Debates of Sept. 19th, 2023

Housing

[Justin Trudeau, Liberal, Prime Minister]

Mr. Speaker, we know that Canadians are struggling right now. I heard from a mom from Oakville who actually said that her mortgage costs went up the same amount as her child care costs came down. Thank God they cancelled each other out, but people should be doing better than that. That is why we are going to continue to be there for Canadians.

[Some hon. members]

Oh, oh!

[The Speaker, Liberal, Anthony Rota]

Order, please. Are we ready to continue?

The right hon. Prime Minister, please continue.

[Justin Trudeau, Liberal, Papineau, QC]

Mr. Speaker, every now and then the Conservatives show their true colours and react over the top, not just with rhetoric but in attacks on things like child care, which we know they disagree with. We know they do not agree with making child care more affordable, and every now and then they show it.

[Alain Therrien, Bloc, La Prairie, QC]

Mr. Speaker, in the midst of a housing crisis, $900 million earmarked for housing in Quebec is being held hostage in Ottawa's coffers. Why? The reason is that this Prime Minister says that he will not give Quebec the money unless he can impose conditions on it.

Simply put, the only thing the Prime Minister should be asking Quebec is into which account he should transfer the money. We are in a crisis and the Prime Minister is delaying $900 million in housing starts. I am appealing to his sense of responsibility.

Will he finally transfer the money?

[Justin Trudeau, Liberal, Prime Minister]

Mr. Speaker, we are well aware that everyone has a responsibility in addressing the housing crisis. The federal government has an important role to play, as do the provincial and municipal governments.

We implemented a $4-billion plan to encourage municipalities to speed up the construction of housing in Canada. Right now, we are working with the Government of Quebec to figure out the best way to get this money to the municipalities so that housing can be built, just as we are doing across the country.

[Alain Therrien, Bloc, La Prairie, QC]

Mr. Speaker, I find it very difficult to understand why this has not been resolved yet. With the exception of Quebeckers who are struggling to find housing, no one needs good news about housing nearly as much as this Prime Minister does. It would be a win-win, especially for him.

He has $900 million worth of good news on his hands, yet he is the one who is dawdling.

What is he waiting for? He should pay out the money and finally make an announcement that is good for Quebeckers.

[Justin Trudeau, Liberal, Prime Minister]

Mr. Speaker, we look forward to being able to send this $900 million to municipalities in Quebec, but everyone knows full well that we have to work with the Quebec government to ensure that this money is appropriately allocated to the municipalities.

We are working in good faith. I can confirm that this $900 million is there for municipalities in Quebec, and we are very eager to send it to them.

Grocery Industry

[Jagmeet Singh, NDP, Burnaby South, BC]

Mr. Speaker, Canadians have been struggling with food prices for almost two years now. Here is a classic Liberal response. They asked the CEOs of the big grocery stores to come to Ottawa, to nicely ask them to stabilize the prices, not to bring them down but to stabilize them.

All the while, the Liberals do not want Canadians to know that they met with the grocery lobbyists over 57 times in the past two years. They had 57 opportunities to ask them to lower the prices, but did not.

Why should Canadians trust this “could have, should have” Prime Minister now?

[Justin Trudeau, Liberal, Prime Minister]

Mr. Speaker, the Minister of Innovation, Science and Industry convened the heads of the five great grocery chains across this country to talk about how we are going to stabilize grocery prices, how they were going to make life more affordable for Canadians.

We are there to work with them to make sure that it happens in ways that continue to support our hard-working farmers and food producers across the country, and continues to put high-quality, affordable food on Canadians' tables from coast to coast to coast.

We have said clearly that we expect to see a concrete plan from those grocery CEOs. If they do not come forward with strong enough measures, then we will take measures. We are going to stabilize—

[The Speaker, Liberal, Anthony Rota]

The hon. member for Burnaby South.

Foreign Affairs

[Jagmeet Singh, NDP, Burnaby South, BC]

Mr. Speaker, yesterday the shocking allegation that a Canadian citizen was killed on Canadian soil by a foreign government rocked our country.

People fleeing violence and persecution have always thought of Canada as a safe place, but now that sense of safety and security has been rocked. People are afraid for their lives.

My question to the Prime Minister is as follows. For people who have received active credible threats of violence to their lives here in Canada, what is the plan to provide them with protection so that they can be safe in Canada?

[Justin Trudeau, Liberal, Prime Minister]

Mr. Speaker, millions of Canadians can trace their roots and origins to different countries in the world, some of which do not hold the same values and rules that we do.

It is important for everyone to feel safe in Canada. That is why keeping Canadians safe is one of our absolute top priorities, why we continue to work closely with security agencies, and partners and allies around the world to ensure that the rule of law is respected and citizens are kept safe.

We know there is much more work to do. We will continue to stand strong for the rule of law and continue to keep Canadians—

[The Speaker, Liberal, Anthony Rota]

The hon. member for Calgary Forest Lawn.

Finance

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

Mr. Speaker, the NDP leader just now asked why we should trust the Prime Minister. Why does he continue to trust the Prime Minister, and to prop him up over and over again?

The Liberal-NDP coalition pile-drives Canadians further, up to 4% now. This finance minister was doing victory laps just two months ago, saying that she stopped inflation. It has gone up 43% since then. After eight years of this incompetency, the Liberals are just not worth the cost anymore. They have doubled the cost of rent and mortgages, and the time it takes to save up for a down payment.

When will the Liberals stop fuelling inflation and pressing the gas on their inflationary spending so that Canadians do not lose their homes?

[Chrystia Freeland, Liberal, Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Finance]

Mr. Speaker, today the Conservatives have shown their true colours. The Leader of the Opposition actually bragged about his comments three years ago. That is when he railed against big fat government programs. That was the emergency support we provided to Canadian families and to Canadian businesses to get through COVID.

Thanks to those programs, we have nearly one million more jobs in Canada than before COVID. Our government is proud of supporting Canadians then, and we are proud—

[The Speaker, Liberal, Anthony Rota]

The hon. member for Calgary Forest Lawn.

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

Mr. Speaker, this is coming from the minister who, three years ago, said that interest rates would stay super low. Then the government piled up so much debt that the interest rates went up. Now Canada is the most at risk in the G7 for a mortgage default crisis.

Maybe the minister should take advice from former Liberal finance minister John Manley who said that their deficits are like pressing the gas while the Bank of Canada is slamming on the brakes with their interest rate hikes. These interest rate hikes have not been seen in the last three decades.

When will the Liberals stop the inflationary spending and balance the budget so interest rates could come down and Canadians would not lose their homes?

[Chrystia Freeland, Liberal, Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Finance]

Mr. Speaker, let me tell the House who we do not intend to take advice from. We do not intend to take advice from the party that was going to leave Canadians high and dry when COVID shut down our economy.

Instead, we supported Canadians, and that support worked. It kept businesses going. That means we have one million jobs more than we had before.

We are going to continue working hard for Canadians. We have removed the GST on purpose-built rentals to get more homes built faster.

[Adam Chambers, Conservative, Simcoe North, ON]

Mr. Speaker, mortgage costs for Canadians are going up because of the Liberal-NDP government's spending and deficits. Even the current finance minister said that spending and deficits are like pouring fuel on the inflationary fire. John Manley said that it is like pressing on the gas pedal while the Bank of Canada is pressing on the brake with higher interest rates.

Canadians are realizing that the current Prime Minister is not worth the cost. When will the government stop its inflationary deficits so that Canadians can keep a roof over their heads?

[Chrystia Freeland, Liberal, Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Finance]

Mr. Speaker, let me bring some facts into this conversation. Canada's AAA credit rating was reaffirmed last week by DBRS Morningstar with a stable outlook. We have the lowest debt and deficit in the G7. When it comes to housing, we are rolling up our sleeves and getting the job done. We have lifted the GST on purpose-built rentals. Provinces across the country are following us. We are going to get more homes built for more Canadians.

The only thing the Conservatives can offer is austerity and cuts.

[Adam Chambers, Conservative, Simcoe North, ON]

Mr. Speaker, how about a fact? When one month in 27 months the interest rate goes below 3% the current finance minister declares victory. She said that the government's plan to bring inflation down is working, but that is not what is happening. In fact, it is going up because of rising energy costs, but the current government is determined to make energy more expensive by increasing the carbon tax. Here is an idea. Why does it not reduce the carbon tax or other taxes on energy and make it affordable again for Canadians?

[Chrystia Freeland, Liberal, Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Finance]

Mr. Speaker, as a little point of fact, I think my hon. colleague just confused the interest rate with the inflation rate. I guess it is an easy mistake to make if one is a Conservative who does not really care about facts.

Let me tell members what our government is focused on. We are focused on Canadians. We are focused on fighting for Canadians. That is why, together with our industry minister, we met with the leaders of Canada's grocers yesterday and told them to stabilize prices now. We are going to make sure that happens.

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

Mr. Speaker, Canadians faced another blow this morning with the news that inflation in Canada increased to 4%. This has a direct impact on all Canadian families.

However, as recently as July, just two months ago, the Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Finance said, “Canada’s plan to bring down inflation is working”. No, minister, it is not working.

After eight years of this Liberal government, is the Deputy Prime Minister aware that her reckless spending has a direct impact on the 151% increase in mortgage payments for Canadians?

[Chrystia Freeland, Liberal, Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Finance]

Mr. Speaker, I am aware of something very important, something that the Conservative leader admitted today.

Today, he was proud of something he said at the beginning of the pandemic. He is proud to have said that supporting Canadians and small and medium-sized businesses was not the right thing to do.

We are proud to have done that and to have supported Canadians. We continue to do so, for example with—