Debates of June 9th, 2023

Small Business

[Arif Virani, Liberal, Parliamentary Secretary to the Minister of International Trade]

Mr. Speaker, I appreciate the question from the Bloc Québécois member because it underscores the importance of small businesses here in Canada.

We have always been there to help and support SMEs. We lowered taxes from 11% to 9%. The opposition voted against that measure.

We were there to provide support during the pandemic with the loans the member across the way mentioned.

What we just did with the budget is lower credit card transaction fees for SMEs. Again, the opposition voted against that.

[Nathalie Sinclair-Desgagné, Bloc, Terrebonne, QC]

Mr. Speaker, the government has such a habit of letting its work be done by Crown corporations and officials that it cannot even answer its own questions.

The deadline of December 31 seemed reasonable at the start of the pandemic. It was believed that the economy could be put on hold and then re-opened, and that that would be the end of it. However, it is just the start for SMEs. The variants prolonged the crisis and led to supply chain problems, skyrocketing costs, labour shortages and empty downtown cores.

As a result, with the deadline six months away, 40% of these businesses, or 250,000 companies, may have to close their doors. Will the government let them, if necessary, make repayment plans without losing their subsidies?

[Arif Virani, Liberal, Parliamentary Secretary to the Minister of International Trade]

Mr. Speaker, what needs to be pointed out with respect to the question asked by the member opposite is that SMEs could apply for a maximum of $60,000. Repayment of two-thirds of the loan by the deadline results in loan forgiveness of one-third.

We are always here to listen to SMEs' concerns. That is why, as I mentioned, we have just cut credit card transaction fees for SMEs here in Canada.

The Economy

[Blake Richards, Conservative, Banff—Airdrie, AB]

Mr. Speaker, not long ago the Liberal Minister of Finance said:

By exercising fiscal restraint, and by not pouring fuel on the fire of inflation today, we will ensure we can responsibly invest in Canadians and in a Canadian economy for years to come.

Yet, here we are, $60 billion in new spending and interest rates at their highest level in 22 years. The Liberals call that restraint? They are practising about the same amount of restraint as a kid in a candy store.

When will the Liberals stop gouging Canadians and end their inflationary spending?

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

Mr. Speaker, we are putting forward a plan that is fiscally responsible.

That is why inflation is coming down. If the member is not aware, it peaked at 8.1% and is now at 4.4%. It is projected to go lower than 3%.

If the member thinks he is going to convince Canadians that he is going to make life more affordable by suggesting that we delete all the programs that make life more affordable, like dental care, like child care, like the CCB, like investing in retirement security for seniors, I do not think he is going to fool anybody other than perhaps the other members sitting on the other side of this House.

[Blake Richards, Conservative, Banff—Airdrie, AB]

Mr. Speaker, let us talk a little about the people who are hardest hit by—

[The Deputy Speaker, Conservative, Chris d'Entremont]

Order. Maybe somebody does not know how to use their headset. I just want to make sure members have their headsets on mute. I know it might be the first day with some of this stuff.

The hon. member for Banff—Airdrie.

[Blake Richards, Conservative, Banff—Airdrie, AB]

Mr. Speaker, let us talk about the people hardest hit by the Liberals' inflationary spending, just for a minute.

The Liberals claim to be the champions of equality and they weave that word into every announcement they make. However, for them, it is nothing more than a buzzword.

In the words of one of the Prime Minister's own former advisers, government spending “will impact disproportionately lower income Canadians and young families, potentially creating divisions and threatening new sorts of inequality.”

When will the government drop the platitudes and stop gouging the Canadians struggling the most?

[Adam van Koeverden, Liberal, Parliamentary Secretary to the Minister of Health and to the Minister of Sport]

Mr. Speaker, the Conservatives have no credibility when it comes to supporting families. When they were in power, they sent out cheques to millionaires with their universal child benefit.

Our Canada child benefit has supported tens of thousands of families in my riding alone.

If the Conservatives really want to support families, then they should support dental care, which has provided dental care for 1,100 constituents in the riding of Carleton and over 1,000 kids in my riding as well. How about some solutions from the other side, rather than just constant slogans?

Housing

[Bernard Généreux, Conservative, Montmagny—L'Islet—Kamouraska—Rivière-du-Loup, QC]

Mr. Speaker, for the past eight years, this Prime Minister and this government have been spending recklessly, and this is having a devastating effect on Canadian families. Accumulated deficits drive up inflation. Everyone knows that. Inflation has led to higher interest rates. The Bank of Canada had to raise its key interest rate. The result is ever-higher mortgage payments.

When will the Prime Minister finally understand that he needs to eliminate these inflationary deficits, which are putting people out on the streets?

[Greg Fergus, Liberal, Parliamentary Secretary to the Prime Minister and to the President of the Treasury Board]

Mr. Speaker, I invite my hon. colleague to have a look at the budget. He can look directly at the budget to see very clearly that the deficit will continue to decline every year for the next five years, despite the headwinds we face. The Conservative Party's reckless austerity measures would be very problematic. Our government has the lowest deficit in the G7. We have the lowest debt and the lowest debt-to-GDP ratio. It is thanks to our leadership that we have been able to achieve these important goals.

The Environment

[Sophie Chatel, Liberal, Pontiac, QC]

Mr. Speaker, a very important federal-provincial-territorial meeting was held last week to discuss wildlife and biodiversity conservation. Specifically, the parties discussed practical ways that they can work together to achieve the important biodiversity targets that they committed to at COP15. One of the most important targets is to conserve 30% of Canada's land by 2030.

Can the Parliamentary Secretary to the Minister of Environment and Climate Change update us on Canada's progress in this regard?

[Terry Duguid, Liberal, Parliamentary Secretary to the Minister of Environment and Climate Change]

Mr. Speaker, I thank my colleague for her question. The COP15 summit held in Montreal was a major triumph for Canada and the planet. We are implementing the agreement that was signed. I am very pleased that the provinces and territories have committed to contributing to our objective of conserving 30% of Canada's lands by 2030 in order to slow the decline in wildlife populations.

Justice

[Gerald Soroka, Conservative, Yellowhead, AB]

Mr. Speaker, on September 16, 2021, Cody McConnell's life was forever changed because his fiancé Mchale Busch and 16-month-old son Noah McConnell were murdered by a registered sex offender who was deemed highly likely to reoffend. Noah's law would protect vulnerable women and children who are most likely to be victims of sex offenders.

Will the Liberals do the right thing, pick up the bill and make Noah's law a reality today?

[David Lametti, Liberal, Minister of Justice and Attorney General of Canada]

Mr. Speaker, I salute the member's empathy and the good place from which the question came.

Our sympathies go out to Cody McConnell and his family and friends for his loss. I tabled in the Senate Bill S-12, whose intention is precisely to preserve and strengthen the sex offender registry. I have undertaken publicly, and I will do it again now, to look at the proposed Noah's law to see if it is in conformity with what we are trying to do and to work with members across the floor to see what we can do.

The Economy

[Michael Kram, Conservative, Regina—Wascana, SK]

Mr. Speaker, eight years of the Liberal government have given Canadians higher deficits, higher inflation and higher interest rates, which, of course, lead to higher mortgage payments. According to a recent study by the International Monetary Fund, Canadians are now the most at risk to default on their mortgages, and this problem will only get worse as more and more Canadians renew their mortgages at higher interest rates.

When will the Prime Minister end his inflationary deficit spending?

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

Mr. Speaker, as I have had the opportunity to say many times in this House, our plan is fiscally responsible and inflation is coming down. It is at 4.4% and we expect it to be less than 3% before the end of this year.

At the same time, we are investing in making life more affordable, and we can afford to do that because we have the lowest deficit and because we have the lowest net debt-to-GDP ratio and because we have the fastest-growing economic growth, at 3.1%, in the G7. We need to take advantage of our good fiscal framework and make sure that we make life more affordable for Canadians.

Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship

[Scott Reid, Conservative, Lanark—Frontenac—Kingston, ON]

Mr. Speaker, the Minister of Immigration designed overly narrow criteria for admitting the families of Afghan language and cultural advisers, whose lives are now in danger. They cannot get to Canada and the minister refuses to schedule meetings with Afghans who want to fix the rules and save these lives.

Why can the minister find the time in his schedule to announce visa-free travel for people from other countries, but not to take a meeting with a brave Afghan who served Canada and whose family may be killed because of that service?

[Marie-France Lalonde, Liberal, Parliamentary Secretary to the Minister of Immigration]

Mr. Speaker, certainly I want to reiterate to this House that the resettling of Afghans remains our very top priority. These Afghans have worked side by side with the Canadian Armed Forces in our mission in Afghanistan to promote peace and democracy in this region.

Let me be very clear. We will not turn our backs on these brave Afghans who have worked with us and we will do everything we can to get Afghans to safety.

Housing

[Brendan Hanley, Liberal, Yukon, YT]

Mr. Speaker, we know that a significant gap remains for indigenous peoples living in urban, rural and northern areas when it comes to housing. There is an urgent need to act now.

Could the Parliamentary Secretary to the Minister of Housing elaborate on how our government is upholding the right to housing as per UNDRIP's articles 21 and 23, with an emphasis on the for indigenous, by indigenous approach, and how this recently announced partnership with the National Indigenous Collaborative Housing Inc. is designed to rapidly address the urgent needs and long-term housing challenges of indigenous peoples across Canada?

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

Mr. Speaker, I want to thank my colleague for his hard work.

Too many indigenous people in urban, rural and northern communities do not have the housing they need. That is why our government committed to co-developing a for indigenous, by indigenous urban, rural and northern housing strategy. Yesterday we announced immediate funding of $287 million with the National Indigenous Collaborative Housing Inc., and it is just the beginning. Through budget 2023, we are investing an additional $4 billion.

As we advance toward reconciliation, our focus remains on providing safe, affordable homes for all.

Natural Resources

[Heather McPherson, NDP, Edmonton Strathcona, AB]

Mr. Speaker, Albertans have made it very clear that they do not want coal mining in the Rocky Mountains. Coal mining in the eastern slopes threatens our land and our water, it is not good for our planet and it is not good for Albertans, yet the minister is fine with an Australian coal mining company carving out more than 500 hectares of Grand Mountain.

Based on my private member's bill, this government promised that all coal mining would trigger a federal environmental impact assessment. Albertans want it. First nations want it. So, where is the impact assessment on the Grand Cache Mine?

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

Mr. Speaker, we have a commitment to end the export of thermal coal, and we are working across all sectors of our economy to make sure that we are reducing emissions.

We put in place a robust impact assessment system that is there to make sure that there are regional assessments and impact assessments to take into account environmental concerns. We have a very objective system. I am sure that the member opposite can look at the improvements that we have made towards those policies.

Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship

[Kevin Vuong, Independent, Spadina—Fort York, ON]

Mr. Speaker, in May 2022, an IRCC committee tabled a report that noted overt and subtle racism at its offices abroad, especially at posts where visa decisions were delegated to locally engaged staff, such as in South Africa. It has come to my attention that an unofficial filter system has been incorporated in that country. White local staff are overwhelmingly refusing visa applications from predominantly Black South Africans. Indeed, white visa applications are being placed in one pile and non-white in another. This is unconscionable.

Can the minister confirm or deny if Canada is running an apartheid-era visa selection process in South Africa?

[Marie-France Lalonde, Liberal, Parliamentary Secretary to the Minister of Immigration]

Mr. Speaker, let me be very clear that we have zero tolerance for racism or discrimination of any kind. That is why we are already hard at work to address racism and create real, lasting change.

We created the anti-racism task force. We continue to provide training to address unconscious bias for all of our employees. Also, IRCC has released our new anti-racism strategy 2.0. However, we know that there is more to do, and we will keep working hard to fight all discrimination and build on our findings.