Debates of June 5th, 2023

The Economy

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

Mr. Speaker, I have the utmost respect for the member for Charlesbourg—Haute-Saint-Charles, but I would like to give him some advice. He should listen to Canadians.

Canadians told us three things. They want help with the cost of food. That is exactly what we are doing with the grocery rebate, which will help 11 million Canadians. Second, they want us to invest in health care because they want family doctors. Third, they want us to invest in the economy of the future to build tomorrow's economy, the economy of the 21st century.

That is exactly what we are doing, and the Conservatives would do well to listen to Canadians sometimes.

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

Mr. Speaker, all we do is listen to Canadians. What Canadians are telling us, on this side of the House, is that they are struggling, that they do not have enough money and that everything is more expensive. Why is everything more expensive? It is because of the inflationary measures taken by this government. That is quite clear. Everyone is saying so, even former Liberal ministers and prime ministers. This is not working.

With all due respect to my colleague, can he tell the House if they are going to end their inflationary measures so Canadians can keep more money in their pockets, yes or no?

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

Mr. Speaker, I am sure the people of Charlesbourg—Haute-Saint-Charles who are listening to the debate in the House today are a little surprised. The government is proposing measures to help people, precisely because, as the member pointed out, people need a little help. When Canadians need some help, they know which side of the House to turn to.

That is exactly why the Minister of Finance included food assistance measures in her budget. The grocery rebate will help 11 million Canadians, many of whom, I agree, will certainly be in the Quebec City region and Charlesbourg—Haute-Saint-Charles.

We need to help Canadians in their time of need. That is exactly what we are doing.

Democratic Institutions

[René Villemure, Bloc, Trois-Rivières, QC]

Mr. Speaker, it is impossible to get answers about Chinese interference. When the Bloc Québécois asks how many elected officials in total have been the target of threats or disinformation campaigns, the government refuses to answer. When the Conservatives ask how many Chinese police stations remain open, it refuses to answer. When the NDP asks about the relationship between the special rapporteur's staff and the Liberal Party, it refuses to answer. Then, when all three parties call for a public inquiry, the government still refuses. This is an affront to democracy.

Where will we find the answers if the government refuses to provide them and refuses to hold a public inquiry?

[Marco Mendicino, Liberal, Minister of Public Safety]

Mr. Speaker, I want to reassure my colleague. Our government continues to take this issue very seriously. The fight against foreign interference is a serious issue. David Johnston has an ardent new defender, the Conservative leader. Yes, it is true. He called Mr. Johnston “a very credible individual”.

Despite all the history between Mr. Johnston and the Conservatives, we will continue to place our trust in him to determine the next steps on this important issue.

[René Villemure, Bloc, Trois-Rivières, QC]

Mr. Speaker, that did not answer my question, but anyway. The Liberal solution is full of holes. We have a Prime Minister who hides the truth from citizens and who wants to force the opposition leaders to join him in his secretive practices. He wants to let them in on the secret, while keeping Quebeckers and Canadians in the dark.

The Liberals are looking at this problem from the wrong angle. The problem is not that the public knows that China is interfering in democracy. On the contrary, the problem is that China is able to continue interfering behind the scenes. The problem is the darkness, not the light.

When will the government launch an independent public inquiry?

[Dominic LeBlanc, Liberal, Minister of Intergovernmental Affairs]

Mr. Speaker, I think my Bloc Québécois friend might be confused about who kept Canadians in the dark. The Conservative Party did absolutely nothing to address foreign interference, despite the fact that our intelligence agencies raised the issue publicly in 2013. Our government did the opposite. We implemented measures to counter foreign interference. We strengthened them every time the experts advised us to do so, and we are going to do exactly the same thing when it comes to Mr. Johnston's recommendations.

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

Mr. Speaker, this government talks about opposition leaders but says nothing about China's interference. That is what we need to address, and yet, as a result of the Johnston report, there will be no inquiry into the Chinese police stations, no inquiry into the electoral candidates backed by China, no inquiry into the intimidation of the Chinese diaspora, and no inquiry into the threats against our elected members. What is the use of allowing Mr. Johnston to continue to do his work if he himself is telling us that he will not be investigating Chinese interference in our democracy?

[Marco Mendicino, Liberal, Minister of Public Safety]

Mr. Speaker, with all due respect to my colleague, our government has a list of meaningful action that has been taken with respect to foreign interference with the creation of new powers for CSIS, with the creation of a new national coordinator in the fight against foreign interference and with a public consultation for the creation of a new foreign agent registry. We are prepared to work together with the Bloc and with all members in the fight against foreign interference to better protect our democratic institutions.

The Economy

[Philip Lawrence, Conservative, Northumberland—Peterborough South, ON]

Mr. Speaker, food costs are up. Inflation is up. Mortgage payments are up. Rental payments are up. Faith in the Prime Minister is down.

When will the Prime Minister end these inflationary deficits, scrap the tax and bring back the common sense of the common people?

[Karina Gould, Liberal, Minister of Families]

Mr. Speaker, I am not sure there was a question in there, but I do not mind actually sharing with the Conservatives—

[The Speaker, Liberal, Anthony Rota]

I want to remind hon. members, there is a little chattering and I am not pointing at either side here, that this chamber is much more technically advanced than our old chamber, and it picks up everything. If someone is speaking and someone next to the microphone, not even next to it but a couple of seats away, says something, it will be picked up.

I just want everyone to keep that in consideration while someone is speaking.

The hon. Minister of Families, please start over so that we could hear the whole thing. It will be nice and quiet.

[Karina Gould, Liberal, Burlington, ON]

Mr. Speaker, I am not sure my hon. colleague asked a question there, but I do not mind enlightening him on the measures that we have taken to help Canadians with the high cost of living.

For example, we brought forward the Canada housing benefit that helps millions of Canadians who are low-income renters. We brought forward the Canada dental benefit that has helped over 300,000 Canadian children access the dentist, and the Canada child benefit, which is now up to almost $7,000 a year per child under the age of six for the lowest-income Canadians.

I would also mention the grocery rebates, which would be going out to 11 million Canadians this July.

[Adam Chambers, Conservative, Simcoe North, ON]

Mr. Speaker, Liberal deficits drive inflation and Canadians are paying the price.

John Manley said that government fiscal policy is making it harder to contain inflation, and Stephen Poloz said that government deficits last year made the Bank of Canada raise interest rates higher, which means Canadians are paying a higher price for government spending. Just last month, inflation went higher when the Minister of Finance said Canadians should expect inflation to go lower.

Is there a plan to end inflationary deficits and spending to bring down inflation and interest rates?

[Karina Gould, Liberal, Minister of Families]

Mr. Speaker, I also do not mind providing a bit of a history lesson to Conservatives, because, in fact, when the Liberals left government in 2006, they left the Conservatives with a big, healthy surplus. What did the Conservatives do? Well, they actually brought in years of deficits while cutting services and going through a global recession.

On the other hand, what did we do? We invested in Canadians. We have supported Canadians. In fact, we know that inflation is high, but when it comes to food inflation, a new report today actually announced that Canada is the second-lowest in the world when it comes to food inflation.

We know there is more to do. We know we need to support Canadians. We are doing the right thing.

[Adam Chambers, Conservative, Simcoe North, ON]

Mr. Speaker, on this side of the House, we are proud of a record that, during the last recession, cut taxes for Canadians.

However, let us talk about energy and food costs, which are some of the biggest contributors to inflation. It is puzzling that the government continues to increase taxes on both fuel and food and making them more expensive by continuing to increase the carbon tax. These carbon taxes, as the central bank says, are inflationary, and this government wants to impose a second carbon tax, which will just make food and fuel more expensive, because we have to ship the food to the table and farmers use fuel in their operations.

When will the government realize that its policies are making inflation worse?

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

Mr. Speaker, 2016 was the worst year for forest fires in Alberta, and already we are on the verge of surpassing this on June 4. We have just seen the worst forest fires in the history of Nova Scotia, and this is only June 4. Quebec asked the federal government over the weekend, because it said it could not handle all the forest fires it is seeing, and it is only the beginning of June.

What is the response from the Conservative Party of Canada? It is to let make pollution free again. Let us allow the largest polluters in Canada to pollute as much as they want. Let us stop using the most effective tool to fight climate change, which is carbon pricing—

[The Speaker, Liberal, Anthony Rota]

The hon. member for Rosemont—La Petite-Patrie.

Housing

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

Mr. Speaker, people across the country are hurting because of the housing crisis. They are paying exorbitant prices or are being forced to move. The Liberals are not building enough social or affordable housing and are not investing enough to maintain existing housing.

Yesterday, the NDP leader and I visited an affordable housing complex in Notre‑Dame‑de‑Grâce that had to condemn and close entire apartment units for lack of money to maintain and renovate them. That is ridiculous.

When will the Liberals wake up and make serious investments in accessible housing for everyone?

[Soraya Martinez Ferrada, Liberal, Parliamentary Secretary to the Minister of Housing and Diversity and Inclusion (Housing)]

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

We agree with him that housing is currently difficult to find and that it is much more expensive. We created the first national housing strategy, which invested in affordable housing and recognized the right to housing, because we need legislation to tackle market speculation. That is exactly what we are doing.

Disaster Assistance

[Blake Desjarlais, NDP, Edmonton Griesbach, AB]

Mr. Speaker, the raging wildfires in Alberta have left countless communities devastated. As families were allowed to return home, I joined some in the East Prairie Métis Settlement to witness the destruction and mourn the loss of their homes, cultural heirlooms and family memories.

Despite being hit the hardest, first nations and Métis settlements have only received lip service from both the provincial and federal governments. Will this government take its relationship with first nations and Métis settlements seriously and provide immediate housing supports to those who have lost everything?

[Bill Blair, Liberal, President of the King’s Privy Council for Canada and Minister of Emergency Preparedness]

Mr. Speaker, I would like to share with the member that, last week, the Prime Minister and several of us met with the Métis National Council, for example, and talked about working with the Métis National Council to actually implement a priority on emergency management. I also want to assure the member opposite that Indigenous Services Canada and the Government of Canada have been working closely with first nations and Métis communities impacted by these fires, and we will continue to support them in every way possible.

Indigenous Affairs

[Michael McLeod, Liberal, Northwest Territories, NT]

Mr. Speaker, June marks National Indigenous History Month, which is an opportunity to recognize and celebrate the contributions of first nations, Inuit and Métis across Canada as well as their culture, languages and heritage. It is also an opportunity to reflect on historic wrongs, how they have impacted relationships with indigenous people and the ongoing work to advance reconciliation.

The reality of Canada's colonial history, including dispossessing indigenous people from their lands, continue to be felt to this day. Can the Minister of Crown-Indigenous Relations please update this House on the work Canada has been doing to advance reconciliation to address past harms—

[The Speaker, Liberal, Anthony Rota]

The hon. minister.

[Marc Miller, Liberal, Minister of Crown-Indigenous Relations]

Mr. Speaker, last year, we resolved a record number of 56 specific claims for $3.5 billion in compensation. In addition, this past April, we reached a historical settlement with Treaty 8 first nations, which will return just over 44,000 hectares of land to those communities. We are also addressing a number of past harms, namely the harms caused by the tragedy of residential schools and the destruction of language and culture, with the Gottfriedson settlement earlier in January for $2.8 billion.

While National Indigenous History Month is the occasion to reflect on everything that is going well in this country for indigenous peoples, it is also a reminder that we—