Debates of June 8th, 2023

Housing

[Rachel Bendayan, Liberal, Parliamentary Secretary to the Minister of Tourism and Associate Minister of Finance]

Mr. Speaker, my hon. colleague referred to what happened yesterday evening. While those difficult conversations were happening at the supper table, the Conservative leader was in the House, where I heard him rambling on and on for four hours. He talked about King Henry VIII and the difference between copper coins, silver coins and IPads, but I did not hear him talk about an economic plan for Canada.

The Conservative leader has been on the job for 271 days and he has nothing of substance to offer Canadians.

Finance

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

Mr. Speaker, my colleague has a selective memory. The Conservative leader clearly said that there are two things the government must do. First, it should not create new taxes and, more importantly, it should have a plan to reduce spending and get to a balanced budget.

Why have a balanced budget? That would honour the word of the Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Finance who said that deficits add fuel to the inflationary fire.

Does the Deputy Prime Minister still agree with herself, namely that they really need to control spending and, most importantly, aim for a balanced budget for all Canadians?

[Rachel Bendayan, Liberal, Parliamentary Secretary to the Minister of Tourism and Associate Minister of Finance]

Mr. Speaker, let us talk about balance. We have struck a balance between fiscal responsibility and compassion.

What the Conservatives are proposing is austerity and cuts. Our government is offering a new grocery rebate. Our government is offering subsidies for dental care. Our government is proposing a low-income workers benefit in Canada to support and help workers.

The Conservatives are just not interested in helping Canadians. We are doing all of that and still have the lowest deficit in the G7.

Climate Change

[Yves-François Blanchet, Bloc, Beloeil—Chambly, QC]

Mr. Speaker, Quebec is grappling with forest fires that are causing 11 times the devastation we have seen for the last 10 years, on average. We are talking about three million hectares and it is only June.

In terms of length of season, intensity and frequency, periods of drought and heat conducive to fires can be linked to climate change, while climate change can be linked to oil and gas development.

Does the Prime Minister agree that fossil fuels are the reason for the fires that are devastating Quebec?

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

Mr. Speaker, I thank the leader of the Bloc Québécois for his question. We agree with him. We must do more to fight climate change. There is a clear link between the forest fire season we are currently experiencing in Canada and the use of fossil fuels.

We must reduce our greenhouse gas emissions. That is why we will be supporting the motion moved by the Bloc Québécois today in the House of Commons.

[Yves-François Blanchet, Bloc, Beloeil—Chambly, QC]

Mr. Speaker, I feel like I have gone back in time 10 years. No serious person can deny that oil and gas are to blame for some of the terrible tragedies happening around the world, and increasingly right here, too. This obsession with oil comes at a very high price.

Will the Prime Minister agree to halt all forms of funding, direct or indirect, to the oil companies and transfer the money saved to Quebec and the provinces in order to increase funding for research into mitigating the effects of climate change and the measures required to protect ourselves, particularly when it comes to municipal infrastructure?

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

Mr. Speaker, once again, I thank the leader of the Bloc Québécois for his question. I think we can walk and chew gum at the same time. We are not going to wait until fossil fuel subsidies are completely eliminated.

We are already doing this, so we can make massive investments in public transit, electrification and clean technologies. That is what we did in the last budget. It is what the Conservatives vehemently oppose, even though they claim to believe in technology. When we want to invest in technology, they say we should not invest in technology.

I thank the Bloc leader for his question. We will work with the Bloc on these important issues.

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

Mr. Speaker, we have seen the images of New York's Statue of Liberty completely shrouded in smoke from Quebec's wildfires. It is astonishing to think that 128 million people in the United States are under air quality advisories. The air quality index for New York City peaked at 413 on a scale of 0 to 500 by the end of the day on Wednesday. Figures like these have not been recorded in 20 years.

Climate change knows no boundaries. What will it take for this government to quit spouting hot air and finally take action?

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

Mr. Speaker, I would like to remind my hon. colleague that we are in the process of eliminating fossil fuel subsidies in this beautiful country we call Canada with the collaboration of his very own party.

We put a stop to international subsidies last year, and we were applauded by NGOs like Environmental Defence and Équiterre and by international organizations like Oil Change International. According to these groups, when it comes to getting rid of fossil fuel subsidies internationally, there are two global leaders: the United Kingdom and Canada.

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

Mr. Speaker, that would be more believable if the Liberals had not bought the Trans Mountain pipeline and approved the Bay du Nord project.

Listening to the Liberals, it sounds as though everything is sunshine and lollipops. The problem is that the sun is hidden by the smoke. It is getting harder and harder for the Liberals to keep pretending everything is fine when the entire country is burning.

Since 2015, the famous water bombers used to put out fires are not even made in Canada anymore. We are now forced to borrow them from abroad. This government is not prepared to deal with the crises that are coming.

When is this government going to stop subsidizing oil companies and use that money to invest in renewable energy?

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

Mr. Speaker, the answer is quite simple: We are already doing it. We are investing more than $200 billion in clean technologies and in the fight against climate change. That is half of what the United States, a country 10 times our size, is doing. What is more, we are eliminating fossil fuel subsidies.

I agree with my hon. colleague. We need to do more. We need to move faster on both tackling climate change and ensuring we can adapt to it. That is exactly what we are doing on this side of the House.

The Budget

[Jasraj Singh Hallan, Conservative, Calgary Forest Lawn, AB]

Mr. Speaker, the IMF reports Canadians have the most indebted households in the G7, with a mortgage default crisis looming. Out-of-control Liberal spending gave Canadians nine bank interest rate hikes in a year. Former Liberal finance minister John Manley said that the out-of-control spending by the Liberals is like pressing the gas while the Bank of Canada is trying to slam on the brakes with its interest rate hikes. Adding another $60 billion of fuel on that inflationary fire is not going to help anybody.

Will the Prime Minister cancel his tanning plans this summer, get to work in this House and rewrite his budget, so Canadians do not lose their houses?

[Terry Beech, Liberal, Parliamentary Secretary to the Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Finance]

Mr. Speaker, in fact, inflation is coming down. It peaked at 8.1%; it is now 4.4%, and that is better than the United States, Europe and the OECD. It is actually projected to continue coming down to below 3% very soon. It is still too high, but that is why we are investing in affordability. We have lifted 2.7 million Canadians out of poverty. We have created more than 900,000 jobs. In fact, through the workers benefit, more than 4.2 million Canadians are taking home bigger paycheques.

All of this is while maintaining the highest economic growth in the G7 and the lowest deficit.

[Jasraj Singh Hallan, Conservative, Calgary Forest Lawn, AB]

Mr. Speaker, Conservatives will continue to fight to stop this Liberal-NDP government from putting another $4,200 of debt on the backs of struggling Canadians. Liberals' out-of-control spending gave Canadians the highest inflation seen in 40 years, and that made interest rates go up. The majority of Canadians are only $200 away from insolvency. Any more rate hikes are going to be crippling. This budget would turn Canada into a nation of inflation and higher debt.

Will the Prime Minister end his surf trips, end the phony celebrity tours and rewrite this failed budget, so Canadians can keep their homes this summer?

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

Mr. Speaker, when global inflation reared its head, the Conservative leader had a solution; it was to invest in cryptocurrency. If Canadians had followed that advice, and sadly many did, they not only would have been reduced, if they had invested in Terra, Celsius or FTX—

[Some hon. members]

Oh, oh!

[The Speaker, Liberal, Anthony Rota]

I am sorry; it started a couple of questions ago, and I think it is more people talking to each other, so I am going to ask them, if they are speaking with each other, to please whisper, and if they are more than one seat away from someone, to maybe just move over and talk to them at a lower pace, not so loudly.

See how I am speaking quietly? I want everybody to talk quietly to each other, if they are not answering or asking questions.

The hon. government House leader has about 25 seconds.

[Mark Holland, Liberal, Ajax, ON]

Mr. Speaker, if that advice was not bad enough, they got something new. It does not matter that Canada is lower than the OECD in terms of its average on inflation, lower than the eurozone, lower than the G7, lower than the United States and lower than the U.K.

It does not matter that we have one of the lowest inflation rates in the world. They want to solve global inflation by slashing supports to Canadians. They think they can fix global inflation by getting rid of dental care, by getting rid of child care and by attacking the most vulnerable. Not only will it not work, it is shameful.

Housing

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

Mr. Speaker, Canada is supposed to be a place of prosperity, hope and opportunity, yet for far too many Canadians it has become a place where they can no longer afford to work, to live and to thrive. Earlier this year the finance minister admitted that her Liberal deficits were driving inflation. Still, they added $60 billion of inflationary fuel on a cost of living fire.

We know that deficits lead to inflation, inflation leads to interest hikes and interest hikes lead to mortgage default.

How many Canadians will lose their homes before the Prime Minister learns his lesson?

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

Mr. Speaker, yesterday the member opposite said that Ireland is the place to be and that it is the greatest country right now. I would say that the facts show that this is the greatest country on earth. This is the place where we are leading growth and change, where we are transforming to the economy of the future, where we are building the jobs of the future and where we are making sure we have a future for our country.

We love this country. While they idolize others, we stand for this country.

[The Speaker, Liberal, Anthony Rota]

Order. There are no points of order during question period. You will have to wait until it is over.

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

Mr. Speaker, I must have misheard because he said he admired Canada. I heard the Prime Minister say he admired the basic dictatorship of China. I would ask that member to come down to the food banks in Cobourg. I think it is about two hours from his riding. He should see the children lining up outside the food bank.

Shame on you. Shame on you. Life has never been better, that is all we hear. That is not the truth. Go to the food banks. See the double and triple use. See Canadians suffering.

We know that deficits lead to inflation which leads to housing default. How much longer until the Prime Minister learns his lesson, stops the inflationary deficit spending and puts an end to—

[The Speaker, Liberal, Anthony Rota]

Order, order. I just want to remind the hon. members to place their comments or their questions through the Chair, not at the Chair.

The hon. minister for families.

[Karina Gould, Liberal, Minister of Families]

Mr. Speaker, unfortunately what Canadians know is that the Conservative way of doing things is one of throwing up their hands, sitting down and saying, “Let's do nothing“. Actually, no, “Let's cut”. That is the Conservative way of doing things. Let us cut the Canada child benefit. Let us cut the thousands of dollars that Canadian families are saving when it comes to child care. Let us cut the grocery rebate that we are giving to Canadians. Let us cut the Canada worker benefit.

On this side of the aisle, we actually believe in investing in Canadians. The facts speak for themselves: 2.7 million fewer Canadians living in poverty, including 635,000 children—

[The Speaker, Liberal, Anthony Rota]

The hon. member for Portneuf—Jacques‑Cartier.