Debates of May 11th, 2023

Passports

[Pierre Poilievre, Conservative, Leader of the Opposition]

Mr. Speaker, the current Prime Minister's woke and out-of-touch ideology is so egotistical that he cannot imagine there are any Canadian stories bigger than him. That is why he deleted Terry Fox, the soldiers who died at Vimy, the city of Quebec and the RCMP from our passport to replace them with a colouring book that includes an image of him swimming at Harrington Lake when he was a boy.

I announce that a common-sense Conservative government would bring back Vimy, our memory of Terry Fox and pride in our country, and it would restore a passport that all of us can be proud of.

[Sean Fraser, Liberal, Minister of Immigration]

Mr. Speaker, I would caution the opposition leader against claiming that he somehow has a monopoly on caring about Terry Fox. He should talk to the member for Oakville about her advocacy for Terry Fox and the money she has helped secure for cancer research.

Terry Fox lives on in the memories of Canadians because of the courage he demonstrated during the Marathon of Hope and in—

[Some hon. members]

Oh, oh!

[The Speaker, Liberal, Anthony Rota]

I am going to have to interrupt the minister.

The hon. Leader of the Opposition wants to hear the answer to the question he asked. I am going to let the minister start from the top so that the hon. Leader of the Opposition can hear the whole thing.

The hon. minister.

[Sean Fraser, Liberal, Central Nova, NS]

Mr. Speaker, I would caution all members of this House against claiming some sort of a monopoly on caring about our nation's heroes.

Terry Fox is loved by Canadians, not because his picture was in the passport but because of the courage he demonstrated during the Marathon of Hope, and the research funding that has come to help advance care for cancer patients. My family has been affected by cancer, and I still celebrate Terry Fox's contributions to our national discourse. Let us look at the advocacy of the member for Oakville on Terry Fox's behalf to help secure funding to perpetuate his legacy and continue to improve cancer research.

We can commemorate our heroes in a number of ways, and we are committed to doing that.

Carbon Pricing

[Pierre Poilievre, Conservative, Leader of the Opposition]

Mr. Speaker, the Prime Minister is out of touch and in hiding. Yesterday, as he left the House, he challenged me to have more of these debates, and now he will not even get out of his seat and answer my questions.

We know why. He is afraid. He is afraid to defend not only his first carbon tax, which he admits will increase the price of gas by 41¢ a litre, at thousands of dollars of net costs per family, but he now has carbon tax 2, a second tax with no rebate, that will increase food, heat and gas prices even further.

How much will the second carbon tax increase the cost of gas for hard-working Canadians?

[Steven Guilbeault, Liberal, Minister of Environment and Climate Change]

Mr. Speaker, we now have the Conservative premier of New Brunswick, at the request of one of the Conservative members, asking the federal government to put in place our carbon pricing system. We have a number of Conservative members who have argued in favour of carbon pricing. All the provinces and territories in Canada have put in place carbon pricing. While we have done that, we have increased jobs and economic development in Canada, and we have reduced our pollution by more than 50 million tonnes.

[Pierre Poilievre, Conservative, Leader of the Opposition]

Mr. Speaker, the question that the Prime Minister was too afraid to stand up to answer and debate me on was about the cost of the second carbon tax.

We know that the Prime Minister's first carbon tax will cost 41¢ a litre, at a net cost to average families of over $1,500. However, that is not enough for him. He wants a second carbon tax, which will add even more costs without any rebate at all.

We know that he told falsehoods about the first tax. Will he finally have the guts to stand up and tell us how much his second tax will cost Canadians?

[Steven Guilbeault, Liberal, Minister of Environment and Climate Change]

Mr. Speaker, if allowed, I will read from the Conservative Party of Canada's election platform from the last election, the platform that this party stood and spoke to Canadians about. I am quoting from page 78, where it says, “Our plan will ensure that all Canadians can do their part—”

[Some hon. members]

Oh, oh!

[The Speaker, Liberal, Anthony Rota]

I am sorry. I am starting to hear chatter again. I am having a hard time hearing the answer, and it is coming from a certain point. I am sure they do not want the next question to be swapped with the last one and have someone very special to them—

[Rachael Thomas, Conservative, Lethbridge, AB]

It was coming equally from that side and from this side.

[The Speaker, Liberal, Anthony Rota]

The hon. member for Lethbridge will apologize to the Chair for interrupting.

[Rachael Thomas, Conservative, Lethbridge, AB]

Mr. Speaker, I apologize for interrupting.

[The Speaker, Liberal, Anthony Rota]

Very good.

Now, I want to remind all members to have some respect for this chamber. That includes the hon. member for Timmins—James Bay. I hear his chattering throughout. I just want to ask him to keep it down and stop, please.

Now, we will go back to the minister, from the top, and I want to see everything calm down.

The hon. minister.

[Steven Guilbeault, Liberal, Laurier—Sainte-Marie, QC]

Mr. Speaker, the Leader of the Opposition and many members across the way have called me “woke” before, and if “woke” means standing up for the future of my children and grandchildren so that they have access to clean air and clean water, then so be it. If “woke” means standing up to create jobs for generations of Canadians by investing in the clean economy, then so be it. If “woke” means standing up for the rights of women to choose, then so be it.

[Pierre Poilievre, Conservative, Leader of the Opposition]

Mr. Speaker, he is woke, and so Canadians are broke. I will say what “woke” means in practice. His government approved dumping millions of litres of raw sewage into the St. Lawrence River; that is what “woke” means. “Woke” means charging a single mom higher costs to drive to work and feed her kids while the Prime Minister jets around using Canadian tax dollars and pumping emissions into our atmosphere. That is the woke hypocrisy across the way. If he has the guts to tell the truth, he will tell us this: How much will carbon tax 2 cost Canadians?

[Karina Gould, Liberal, Minister of Families]

Mr. Speaker, what is exceptionally disappointing from the Leader of the Opposition is that at a time when families in Alberta are experiencing some of the worst wildfires in their history, he is railing against policies that are helping to fight climate change. When he talks about that single mom, unfortunately, he has opposed sending her the Canada child benefit, which has put thousands of dollars into her pocket. He has also opposed the child care agreements that are supporting families across this country and saving them thousands of dollars. When it comes to the environment and supporting families, we know where the Leader of the Opposition—

[The Speaker, Liberal, Anthony Rota]

The hon. member for La Prairie.

Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship

[Alain Therrien, Bloc, La Prairie, QC]

Mr. Speaker, they want to bring in 100 million people by 2100. Everyone in Quebec can see that the so-called Century Initiative is nothing of the kind.

Quebec's premier even declared it a threat to our nation. Quebec's National Assembly adopted not one, not two, but three unanimous motions against these targets. Every elected representative in Quebec is against them. These people are not big bad nationalists. They simply are not willing to see Quebec transformed in such a radical way without debate and without their input.

Will the government commit to not increasing immigration to reach 100 million citizens by 2100?

[Sean Fraser, Liberal, Minister of Immigration]

Mr. Speaker, let me be very clear: the Century Initiative plan is not our government's policy. It is very important to welcome people who work in our communities and make an essential contribution to improving Canadians' quality of life. It is possible, important and essential to welcome newcomers while protecting francophones' demographic weight. Not only is it possible, it is this government's policy right now.

[Alain Therrien, Bloc, La Prairie, QC]

Mr. Speaker, all parties in the House have recognized the Quebec nation, yet today they are unable to respect the Quebec nation.

The Liberals are adopting immigration targets that are unanimously opposed by the Quebec National Assembly. The Conservatives, meanwhile, say they will determine their targets based on business demands, not the will of Quebeckers. The NDP says, “Quebec? Who cares?”

Will Quebeckers from the other parties stand with their nation and say no to these targets of 500,000-plus people a year?

[Dominic LeBlanc, Liberal, Minister of Intergovernmental Affairs]

Mr. Speaker, my hon. colleague knows full well that Quebec has several tools to control immigration into Quebec. We also know that there are posters all over Quebec saying “we are hiring”.

On Monday, I was in Saint‑Eustache with ministers from the Quebec government. On the way from Saint‑Eustache to Ottawa, there were companies everywhere, in industrial parks, that need workers.

We will work with the Quebec government and Quebec businesses to ensure that businesses have access to this workforce—

[The Speaker, Liberal, Anthony Rota]

The hon. member for Burnaby South.

Women and Gender Equality

[Jagmeet Singh, NDP, Burnaby South, BC]

Mr. Speaker, once again, the Conservatives will try to reopen the debate on the right to abortion. Once again, the Liberals will place their hands on their hearts and declare their outrage, without doing anything to guarantee the right to abortion.

When will the government stop with the empty words? When will they guarantee access to abortion?