Debates of May 31st, 2023

Democratic Institutions

[Justin Trudeau, Liberal, Prime Minister]

Mr. Speaker, the leader of the Bloc Québécois just said, “we already know more than enough”, but the reality is that he does not know because he refused to receive briefings on confidential intelligence that has been gathered by our security intelligence services. He refuses to hear the facts at the heart of the matter of Chinese interference so that he can continue his personal and partisan attacks and his bickering.

All Canadians, including Quebeckers, deserve representatives that take the issue of foreign interference seriously. That is what we are doing.

Carbon Pricing

[Pierre Poilievre, Conservative, Leader of the Opposition]

Mr. Speaker, the B.C. Centre for Disease Control revealed today that it now costs over $1,200 a month for a basket of nutritious food for the average family in that province. It is an explosion of costs that have taken place under the Prime Minister.

Those numbers come from a year ago, and the same report says that prices are higher now. Now the Prime Minister's solution for that is a 61¢-a-litre carbon tax that will push gas prices well over two dollars a litre and increase the cost to farmers and truckers who bring us our food.

How much will that increase the cost of food for Canadians?

[Justin Trudeau, Liberal, Prime Minister]

Mr. Speaker, we have seen the extent to which, not just for the past seven and a half years but for the decade before that, the Conservatives refuse to take the fight against climate change seriously and refuse to accept that the cost to Canadians from coast to coast to coast will get increasingly larger as the years go on.

Over the past seven years, we have stepped up on the fight against climate change, including with a price on pollution that puts more money back in the pockets of eight out of 10 Canadians. We are going to continue to step up with the grocery rebate to help Canadians with the high cost of food. We are going to continue to create good jobs. We are going to continue—

[The Speaker, Anthony Rota]

The hon. Leader of the Opposition.

[Pierre Poilievre, Conservative, Leader of the Opposition]

Mr. Speaker, the carbon tax is not an environmental plan; it is a tax plan. It has done nothing to meet any targets, and it has done nothing to reduce the cost of climate change. What it has done is increase the cost of food, because when we tax the farmers who make the food and the truckers who ship the food, then we tax the food itself.

Now, the Prime Minister's plan is not to triple the carbon tax but to quadruple the carbon tax, while he adds more and more. It is 61¢ a litre.

My question is this. How much will his 61¢-a-litre carbon tax add to the monthly basket of food for Canadians?

[Justin Trudeau, Liberal, Prime Minister]

Mr. Speaker, once again we see that the leader of the official opposition is not willing to let the facts get in the way of a great political argument. Even then it is not that great an argument; it is just a bumper sticker that he can stick on to scare Canadians with.

The reality is that we are delivering with dental benefits, with a grocery rebate and with a carbon price that is putting more money back in the pockets of eight out of 10 Canadians. While he continues to cross his arms and vote against things like the dental benefit, we have delivered to 1,100 kids in his riding dental benefits that have made a real difference.

[Pierre Poilievre, Conservative, Leader of the Opposition]

Mr. Speaker, if the facts that I have just quoted from the B.C. Centre for Disease Control are false, then maybe the Prime Minister can tell me what the real numbers are. I have asked him that.

Given that he wants to bring in a 61¢-a-litre carbon tax and increase gas and diesel prices by 61¢ a litre on the farmers who produce the food and the truckers who bring it to the grocery store, how much will that tax increase add to the monthly cost of groceries for the average Canadian family?

[Justin Trudeau, Liberal, Prime Minister]

Mr. Speaker, what Canadians know clearly is that the inaction by a decade of Conservative governments and the continued resistance of Conservatives to taking action on fighting climate change are costing them incredible amounts. How many homes have been lost in Nova Scotia? How many people have been affected and evacuated across Alberta? How many people in the Northwest Territories are affected and in New Brunswick? People in central Canada are worried about forest fires coming there in the coming weeks and months.

The reality is that extreme weather events are getting more and more expensive for Canadians, which is why we need to continue to lean on climate change while supporting Canadians.

[Pierre Poilievre, Conservative, Leader of the Opposition]

Mr. Speaker, all of those things have happened with this carbon tax in place. This carbon tax has done nothing to reduce emissions, let alone stop storms and other weather events. That is nothing more than another act from the Prime Minister.

Let us get back to the question. My question was very specific. We know that a British Columbia family has to spend $1,200 a month on groceries just to feed their kids. He wants to raise the tax up to 61¢ a litre on the farmers and truckers who bring us our food. How much will that add to the grocery bill of an average family?

[Justin Trudeau, Liberal, Prime Minister]

Mr. Speaker, here is the problem with the Leader of the Opposition. He is in love with the sound of his own voice and his own attacks, but he does not actually check the facts.

[Some hon. members]

Oh, oh!

[The Speaker, Anthony Rota]

The right hon. Prime Minister, from the top, please.

[Justin Trudeau, Liberal, Papineau, QC]

Mr. Speaker, here is the issue with the Leader of the Opposition. He is so in love with the sound of his own voice that he does not actually check the facts.

He is talking about our price on pollution, when the reality is that B.C. has its own price on pollution. The federal backstop does not even apply in B.C. He is mixing everything for political arguments and partisan attacks to try to scare Canadians and cover for the fact that he has no plan to fight climate change and, therefore, no plan for the future of the Canadian economy.

Indigenous Affairs

[Jagmeet Singh, NDP, Burnaby South, BC]

Mr. Speaker, Wahpeton Dakota Nation has not had a proper school in a long time.

I have been to the school. Students are forced to learn in portables. They do not have proper running water. They do not have heating in the winter or cooling in the summer. The school itself has a roof that is caving in. There is black mould everywhere.

This is often the reality for first nations and indigenous kids—

[Some hon. members]

Oh, oh!

[The Speaker, Anthony Rota]

I am going to ask everyone, one last time, to calm down and be quiet while we listen to whoever is asking or answering the question.

The hon. member for Burnaby South can begin from the top, please.

[Jagmeet Singh, NDP, Burnaby South, BC]

Mr. Speaker, Wahpeton Dakota Nation has not had a properly functioning school in a long time.

I visited the first nation and saw the school. They have to operate in portables. The portables do not have proper heating and cooling. These portables do not have running water in the winter. I went to the school itself, and the main structure has a roof that is caving in. There is also black mould.

This is often the reality for indigenous children in our country. When will the Prime Minister take this matter seriously and ensure that this first nation has a proper school so indigenous kids could learn in a safe and secure surrounding?

[Justin Trudeau, Liberal, Prime Minister]

Mr. Speaker, I agree with my hon. colleague. We need to do more.

We have built hundreds of new schools across this country in indigenous communities over the past seven and a half years, but there is much more to do. We will continue to work hand in hand with indigenous peoples on record investments and partnerships to build schools, health centres and senior centres. We will continue to work to solve outstanding land claim issues and to install wastewater and water treatment plants to ensure drinking water across the country.

These are things that we are doing and continue to do. I appreciate the member opposite's hard work on bringing them forward as well.

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

Mr. Speaker, there is a priest accused of, and arrested for, abuse and forcible confinement of an eight-year-old girl. More victims are coming forward. Families are in shock. A first nation is in shock.

This is not history. This is happening now in Little Grand Rapids first nation in 2023. What is the government doing to support the community? What will the government do to work with the community to support its clear calls for accountability?

[Justin Trudeau, Liberal, Prime Minister]

Mr. Speaker, this is a horrific situation that never should have happened, at any time. We know it happened decades ago, and it never should have happened. This one is just recent, and it never should have happened.

We have obviously reached out to the community, and we are working closely with them on what is needed for healing and moving forward. We are also serious about accountability and ensuring that these kinds of abuses never happen again.

Climate Change

[Jenica Atwin, Liberal, Fredericton, NB]

Mr. Speaker, we know all too well there are tragic consequences and costs to the climate crisis.

Just this week, we are seeing unprecedented wildfires back home in New Brunswick and Nova Scotia, and my heart goes out to the people facing these incredibly difficult circumstances. We know that the cost of inaction is far too high. We must work towards rapidly decarbonizing our society and ensuring Atlantic Canada protects our precious ecosystems and builds a resilient economy.

Could the Prime Minister please tell us what the government is doing to address the climate crisis while positioning Atlantic Canada as a hub for renewable energy and clean tech for the future?

[Justin Trudeau, Liberal, Prime Minister]

Mr. Speaker, I thank my colleague from Fredericton for her leadership on climate change and her hard work on the file.

Canadians are thinking about our friends on the east coast and across the country who are impacted by wildfires right now. It is a reminder that climate change is real, and that its devastating impacts cannot be ignored.

Unfortunately, the Conservative Party still does not have a climate plan, which means Conservatives do not have a plan for the future of the Canadian economy. On this side, we are investing in and leveraging technologies that are cutting emissions and creating good jobs in, for example, Come By Chance, Newfoundland and Labrador, and we are making sure that it is no longer free to pollute, while giving Canadians money back.

Carbon Pricing

[Pierre Poilievre, Conservative, Leader of the Opposition]

Mr. Speaker, the high school drama teacher over here accuses others of liking the sound of their own voices. This is from a guy who, if he were made of chocolate, would eat himself. However, we do not want him to do that until he answers the question I keep asking.

It is about the cost of groceries in B.C. and everywhere else. He is right. The NDP has already put in a carbon tax there, but he wants to force them to increase it by almost 40¢ to 61¢ a litre. It would be a federally imposed tax by the costly coalition of the Liberals and the NDP. How much will that add to the cost of groceries for the average family?

[Justin Trudeau, Liberal, Prime Minister]

Mr. Speaker, yes, I was a high school teacher before getting into politics, and I am having a little trouble remembering what exact job the Leader of the Opposition had before getting into politics.

We have a plan to fight climate change. We have a plan to continue to move forward on supporting Canadians with a grocery rebate, with a growing economy and with great middle-class jobs. We are delivering health care supports for Canadians from coast to coast to coast and delivering dental care, which has helped 300,000 kids access dental care over the past number of months, including 1,100 in the member's own riding. We will continue to be there for Canadians.

The Economy

[Pierre Poilievre, Conservative, Leader of the Opposition]

Mr. Speaker, the Prime Minister left right in the middle of a semester, and I am having trouble remembering why.

However, he certainly was not a math teacher. His own finance minister said that deficits pour fuel on the inflationary fire, right before she introduced $60 billion more in deficit spending measures. How much will that add to the inflation rate Canadians have to pay?