Debates of June 8th, 2023

Housing

[Joël Godin, Conservative, Portneuf—Jacques-Cartier, QC]

Mr. Speaker, since January 2022, interest rates have risen nine times. Everything costs more, including groceries and heating. Now we are getting another cold shower: another increase in mortgage payments.

Families have to cut back on groceries in order to survive and continue making the payments on their mortgage. Their house is their main asset. The Liberals told them that when rates are low, it is time to borrow. What great advice.

What does the Prime Minister have to say to these many families who are struggling to make ends meet?

[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, when we know that times are tough and the people we represent are struggling, we roll up our sleeves and work harder to provide support to these people, the same people the Conservatives want us to abandon by cutting assistance to families for child care, dental care and the low-income workers benefit.

On this side of the House, we will continue to be there for Canadians while being fiscally responsible.

[Joël Godin, Conservative, Portneuf—Jacques-Cartier, QC]

Mr. Speaker, we are not the ones who have abandoned Canadians. The Liberals have. They need to wake up.

When a mortgage increases by $2,000 a month, is it realistic for a family to overcome that obstacle? The answer is no. This government has been irresponsible, and now Canadians are paying the price. The Bank of Canada told the Liberals that their policy is causing inflation.

I was sad to read in the paper this morning about a mother in Quebec City who said, “basically, our house is killing us”.

What does the Liberal government have to say to that family?

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

Mr. Speaker, the reality is that families in Quebec are going to receive $1,400 with the doubling of the GST tax credit. Unfortunately, with the Conservatives' austerity plan, those families would not get that money.

I would also like to point out that inflation in Canada peaked at 8.1% and has now fallen to 4.4%. Yesterday, the Bank of Canada said that it expected inflation to drop to 3% this summer. Yes, times are tough, but they are going to get better—

Climate Change

[Monique Pauzé, Bloc, Repentigny, QC]

Mr. Speaker, this morning, more than 11,000 Quebeckers were evacuated because of the forest fires. Everyone else also felt the impact of the fires, if only by breathing the ambient air. Climate change is here.

We have a duty to support the victims, but we also have a duty to be consistent. The oil and gas sector is the primary accelerator of climate change. We have to divest from oil and gas. We have no choice.

Since we need to get out of this industry, will the government commit to banning any new oil and gas development and putting an end to searching for deposits?

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

Mr. Speaker, I thank my colleague for the question and for her activism on the issue of climate change.

I want to reassure her. Fighting climate change is the reason why we brought in carbon pricing, one of the most ambitious such initiatives in the world.

Fighting climate change is the reason why we are implementing zero emissions legislation to put more electric vehicles and zero emissions vehicles on our roads.

Fighting climate change is the reason why we are making record investments, including investing $30 billion in public transit by 2030.

Fighting climate change is the reason why we are putting a cap on greenhouse gas emissions and bringing in many other measures.

Natural Resources

[Monique Pauzé, Bloc, Repentigny, QC]

Mr. Speaker, I understand, but the government keeps repeating that it could accelerate the fight against climate change if it did not have to fight the Conservatives. That is true, but things would also move more quickly if it stopped imitating the Conservatives.

Not only is it refusing to divest from oil, it is also looking for new deposits at the bottom of marine refuges. It has just authorized BP to drill off the coast of Newfoundland. Even worse, according to Radio-Canada, the Minister of Natural Resources said that if BP finds oil, he could help them develop it by redrawing the refuge's boundaries.

Will the Minister of Environment and Climate Change immediately correct his colleague?

[Julie Dabrusin, Liberal, Parliamentary Secretary to the Minister of Natural Resources and to the Minister of Environment and Climate Change]

Mr. Speaker, we have already talked about this, and I want to repeat that those are only exploration licences and not production licences. It is very important to know that. A production project has never been proposed in a marine refuge. It is quite possible that such a project would be rejected.

Furthermore, I would like to speak about the work we are currently doing with Bill C-49. It will make it possible for us to develop renewable energy projects, such as wind energy, in the Atlantic provinces.

[Kristina Michaud, Bloc, Avignon—La Mitis—Matane—Matapédia, QC]

Mr. Speaker, blaming the opposition is not going to cut it anymore. Competing over who is the least bad is not going to cut it anymore.

The Conservatives are not the ones authorizing oil exploration in Newfoundland; the government is. The Conservatives are not the ones talking about rejigging the boundaries of a marine refuge to facilitate oil extraction; the government is.

Enough with the blame game. Let us look at what we can do better. We have to get out of oil and gas. Everyone knows that.

Will the government take action that is both concrete and symbolic and announce an end to oil development in marine refuges?

[Julie Dabrusin, Liberal, Parliamentary Secretary to the Minister of Natural Resources and to the Minister of Environment and Climate Change]

Mr. Speaker, once again, when we took office, only 1% of our lands and waters were conserved and protected. Now we are at 14%, and we will reach 30% by 2030. We will keep doing this great work.

We are continuing to invest in renewable energy. That is what we did with Bill C‑49. It will provide a lot of renewable energy opportunities in the Atlantic provinces.

Democratic Institutions

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

Mr. Speaker, the Prime Minister's rapporteur was paying the same crisis communications firm as the member for Don Valley North. That is the former Liberal member who left caucus because of the same scandal the rapporteur was supposed to be investigating. In a surprise to no one, the rapporteur exonerated the former Liberal MP.

With all the conflicts of interest, will the Liberals recognize the damage they are doing and call a public inquiry today?

[Marco Mendicino, Liberal, Minister of Public Safety]

Mr. Speaker, on and on the Conservatives go about Mr. Johnston, who was appointed by Stephen Harper. They now appear to disagree with their former Conservative leader. They disagree with the member for Durham, who took a briefing from the service to ensure that we can do the work of protecting the people who work in our democratic institutions. In fact, the leader of the Conservative Party of Canada disagrees with himself; he said that Mr. Johnston is one of the most credible individuals, with the most integrity, in this country. He has now reversed himself on this. He should do so again and rally around the cause of protecting our democratic institutions from foreign interference. This is not a partisan issue.

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

Mr. Speaker, it seems to be a comprehension issue for the minister. The question is about levels of conflict of interest with the government. We have the Prime Minister, who hired his friend, paying him $1,500 a day. That friend then hired Liberals. He hired Frank Iacobucci, from the Trudeau Foundation. He hired Liberal insiders, such as Sheila Block, and now we have this rapporteur, who is taking the same communications advice as the member for Don Valley North is getting. It is conflict of interest after conflict of interest.

Fire the rapporteur. Call a public inquiry. Will the Liberals do it today?

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

Mr. Speaker, in 2007, when Mr. Johnston's integrity was called into question, the leader of the official opposition said, “This is a very qualified individual, and frankly, I haven't heard anybody question his integrity”. I agree.

I will take it back to 2007, when the Leader of the Opposition was being questioned on how close Mr. Johnston was to the Conservative Party and the fact that he was appointed in that role by Stephen Harper not once, not twice, but three times. The Leader of the Opposition stood up against the calls saying that he was too close to the Conservatives. I do not understand how the Conservatives can say that now and pretend that he has no credibility. That is what has no credibility.

[Luc Berthold, Conservative, Mégantic—L'Érable, QC]

Mr. Speaker, the special loyal Liberal rapporteur David Johnston has hired Navigator to help manage the conflict of interest crisis he has plunged himself into. We just learned that the member for Don Valley North also hired Navigator to obtain strategic advice. The upshot is that this week, the not particularly independent rapporteur exonerated the Liberal member for Don Valley North, despite serious allegations about his ties to the regime in Beijing. We could not make this stuff up.

It is time to end this farce. When will the Prime Minister launch a truly independent public inquiry?

[Marco Mendicino, Liberal, Minister of Public Safety]

Mr. Speaker, the Conservatives will continue their personal attacks against Mr. Johnston, despite the support he received from the current leader of the Conservative Party of Canada. We need to stop this bickering and concentrate on the task at hand, which is protecting our democratic institutions. We must bring Canadians into the discussion. On this side of the House, that is exactly what we are doing as the Government of Canada.

Oil and Gas Industry

[Charlie Angus, NDP, Timmins—James Bay, ON]

Mr. Speaker, Canada is on fire, and cities across North America are suffering in the smoke of this unprecedented ecological disaster. The Prime Minister promised the world that Canada would finally get serious about capping our oil and gas emissions, but since then, the environment minister has allowed an increase in production of 109 million barrels a day. Meanwhile, big oil is racking up record profits, firing thousands of workers and switching to automation. Therefore, where is this cap on big oil, and why will this environment minister not stand up for Canadian workers and our fragile planet?

[Julie Dabrusin, Liberal, Parliamentary Secretary to the Minister of Natural Resources and to the Minister of Environment and Climate Change]

Mr. Speaker, it has been very clear that we are putting a cap on oil and gas emissions, but let us also talk about what we are doing to reduce combustion right across our entire economy.

Just last year, we tabled an emissions reduction plan. It covers all sectors, and we are doing that work. We are moving to a sales target on zero-emissions vehicles. We are helping Canadians to transition the fuels they use to heat their homes. We are going to make sure that we are there, and we are already seeing progress. The national inventory report that we put in with the UN showed that we are on track. We are already bending the curve on our emissions.

[Laurel Collins, NDP, Victoria, BC]

Mr. Speaker, more than 400 wildfires are raging across Canada, forcing thousands to flee from their homes, and it is only June. The climate crisis is being felt in every corner of our country, yet the Liberals continue to hand out billions in subsidies to the biggest polluters. Some of these tax breaks, including the accelerated investment incentive and the accelerated capital cost allowance for fossil fuels, are set to expire, but oil and gas lobbyists are trying to get them extended. Therefore, will the Liberals stop listening to oil and gas executives and end these subsidies for good?

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

Mr. Speaker, I thank my hon. colleague for her advocacy on this issue. As she is well aware, last year, we eliminated international fossil fuel subsidies. Canada and the U.K. are the two most advanced countries in the world who have tackled this international crisis, and we are on track to phase out domestic fossil fuel subsidies this year, in 2023, two years earlier than any of our G20 partner countries. We are getting there, and we will get there faster than anyone else.

Diversity and Inclusion

[Leah Taylor Roy, Liberal, Aurora—Oak Ridges—Richmond Hill, ON]

Mr. Speaker, June 1 marked the beginning of pride season across Canada. We honoured the occasion today with the raising of the pride flag and a celebratory drag brunch. It is a joyful time of year, when we uplift the 2SLGBTQI+ community. However it was disappointing that the official opposition was not well represented as we raised the pride flag. This is especially the case because we sadly recognize a rising tide of anti-2SLGBTQI+ hate and intolerance that is bringing to light a very real fear.

This community needs our support, now more than ever. Could the Minister for Women and Gender Equality share what our government is doing to protect the community's rights?

[Marci Ien, Liberal, Minister for Women and Gender Equality and Youth]

Mr. Speaker, I thank the hon. member for joining us this morning to raise the pride flag. I say thanks so much to all who came. Pride season is a time of both celebration and reflection. We see the rising anti-2SLGBTQI+ hate, and it is causing real fear. That is why we responded with $1.5 million for security supports to Fierté Canada Pride, for safer pride festivals right across this country.

To queer Canadians, we say this: We see them, we hear them and we stand with them. I wish them a happy pride.

Housing

[Tracy Gray, Conservative, Kelowna—Lake Country, BC]

Mr. Speaker, Liberal deficits and spending have caused inflation to reach a 40-year high, which caused interest rates to reach a 22-year high. These rates will cause mortgage defaults.

We have made-in-Canada inflation, and people cannot afford the government. We need to stop fuelling the inflationary fire, stop interest rates from going up and stop people from losing their homes.

When will the Prime Minister stop his inflationary deficit spending?

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

Mr. Speaker, I think it is very important to reiterate that inflation is coming down. It was at a peak at 8.1%. It is now at 4.4%. It is projected to go down below 3%. I think the other thing to say is that we are focused on affordability. That is why we have lowered taxes for Canadians, not once but twice. We lowered taxes for small businesses. In fact, in this budget, we found a way to drop credit card fees by 27%. That is going to save small businesses a billion dollars a year. That is the type of solution we can build if we work together on the budget instead of filibustering it.

[Tracy Gray, Conservative, Kelowna—Lake Country, BC]

Mr. Speaker, the Liberal member just does not get it. The government refuses to take any responsibility for what it has done to affect the cost of living of Canadians.

For example, a local food bank in my community told me that they registered 294 new households in March alone, with the fastest-growing demographic needing help being two-parent, working households. Inflationary deficits are crushing families' finances.

When will the Prime Minister give people hope and end the inflationary deficit spending so that Canadians can afford to stay in their homes?