Debates of Sept. 25th, 2023

Franco-Ontarian Day

[Mario Beaulieu, Bloc, La Pointe-de-l'Île, QC]

Mr. Speaker, September 25 is Franco-Ontarian Day, which commemorates the first time the Franco-Ontarian flag was raised in Sudbury in 1975.

Creating a flag means defining an identity. On their flag, Franco-Ontarians put the white trillium, the floral symbol of Ontario, and the fleur-de-lys, the symbol of the francophone community of America, similar to our own fleur-de-lys flag.

When a kinship is woven into the very fibres of two flags, it is more than just a pictorial wink and a nod. It is a reminder of our duty to support the vitality of the French language. It is a reminder that respect for our language in North America is a battle, now more than ever, and that fighting it together is part of our identity.

Thanks to people like Damien Robitaille, Katherine Levac and Véronic DiCaire, we can continue celebrating the next generation, together, in both Ontario and Quebec.

I wish my Franco-Ontarian brothers and sisters a happy Franco-Ontarian Day.

Leader of the Conservative Party

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

Mr. Speaker, now more than ever, the Leader of the Opposition is proving that he is the common-sense leader that all of Canada needs.

On September 1, during his speech in Quebec City, he rightly said that taxing people more, as the Liberals are doing, or drastically increasing taxes, as the Bloc Québécois wants to do, is not going to reduce pollution. Rather, it will take concrete, effective, realistic and responsible actions.

Let me quote the Conservative Party leader: “To fight the real issue of climate change, we need more hydroelectricity, and fast. My common-sense plan uses technology, not taxes: by incentivizing companies to reduce their emissions; by giving the green light to green projects like dams and wind turbines—no more duplicating all these studies and federal hurdles; by producing green minerals here, not importing them from China. The Bloc Québécois and the Liberals choose taxes. I choose technology.”

Now more than ever, Canada needs a leader and a team with common sense.

ALS Advocacy and Awareness

[Judy Sgro, Liberal, Humber River—Black Creek, ON]

Mr. Speaker, in a memorable viral moment, celebrities, athletes and even MPs dumped buckets of ice on their heads to raise awareness for ALS, a disease not many had heard of but one that impacts thousands of people, usually with a life expectancy of two to five years.

This trend attracted worldwide attention and generated significant funding for ALS research. Unfortunately, it was short-lived and the momentum behind ALS advocacy drifted. This issue is particularly poignant for the House, as we fondly remember the late hon. Mauril Bélanger, who tragically succumbed to this disease.

This summer, I met two courageous young girls in Washington, D.C., Clara and Ellie, who persist in raising awareness and establishing an ALS youth platform for affected young individuals.

Today, I extend gratitude to the MPs who joined our reception to discuss ways to find a cure for ALS. Additionally, we appreciate Clara and Ellie, as well as their parents, Mark and Rebecca Wetzel, present in the House today, for their dedicated involvement in a battle we all need to embrace and support.

Guests in the House of Commons

[Pierre Poilievre, Conservative, Leader of the Opposition]

Mr. Speaker, the news that the House of Commons paid tribute to a Nazi Waffen-SS officer here, in the House of Commons, has sent shockwaves around the world.

The incident embarrassed Canada, harmed victims of the Holocaust and gifted a propaganda tool to the Russians. The Prime Minister is solely responsible for guaranteeing the success of all visits by international leaders here in Canada.

Will he personally take responsibility for this huge problem, which he helped cause?

[Karina Gould, Liberal, Leader of the Government in the House of Commons]

Mr. Speaker, like every other member of the House, I was extremely disappointed by this situation. Personally, as a descendant of Jewish Holocaust survivors, I was very hurt, and I know everyone in the House was hurt too.

As the Leader of the Opposition knows, and as you mentioned, Mr. Speaker, it was your decision and yours alone. Neither the government nor the Ukrainian delegation was aware of the situation ahead of time.

We are all very disappointed by the situation.

[Pierre Poilievre, Conservative, Leader of the Opposition]

Mr. Speaker, the question was for the Prime Minister because, indeed, it is the Prime Minister's sole responsibility to guarantee the diplomatic success of major world leaders who come to this country. It is the Prime Minister and his government who are responsible for both the security and diplomatic vetting of everyone who comes in close proximity of a foreign leader on Canadian soil, particularly a foreign leader who is at war.

The government has now admitted that it vetted everyone who was in attendance that day. Will the Prime Minister apologize for having vetted this individual and letting him come anyway?

[Karina Gould, Liberal, Leader of the Government in the House of Commons]

Mr. Speaker, like all members of this chamber, I am incredibly disappointed in the fact that this individual was invited. As you yourself, Mr. Speaker, confirmed, this individual was recognized in the gallery. I found out just like every other member in the House at that time that this individual was present. This is deeply embarrassing for us as parliamentarians, as Canadians. It is something that I think all of us take extremely seriously, and I would ask my hon. colleagues not to politicize this moment.

[Pierre Poilievre, Conservative, Leader of the Opposition]

Mr. Speaker, the Prime Minister is responsible. He is in Ottawa today. He can get on his feet and answer for his massive diplomatic embarrassment and shame. The minister admitted that the government vetted every single person that was here for the speech. That was the job of the government, which has an entire security and diplomatic apparatus set up for that purpose.

Will the Prime Minister finally take responsibility for his latest embarrassment and apologize to Canadians for this massive disaster?

[Karina Gould, Liberal, Leader of the Government in the House of Commons]

Mr. Speaker, as a descendant of Jewish Holocaust survivors, I am personally very hurt by the fact that this chamber recognized this individual. I am sure that everyone feels the same way in this chamber.

[Leslyn Lewis]

The chickens have come home to roost.

[Some hon. members]

Oh, oh!

[Karina Gould, Liberal, Burlington, ON]

Mr. Speaker, the Parliamentary Protective Service had the appropriate screening in place to ensure the security of last Friday's event, and that is what I was referring to. However, what I can continue to say is that we all must take this seriously because it is hurting many communities—

[The Speaker, Liberal, Anthony Rota]

The hon. Leader of the Opposition.

[Pierre Poilievre, Conservative, Leader of the Opposition]

Mr. Speaker, it is the job of the Government of Canada, the Privy Council Office, which is the Prime Minister's personal department, and the Prime Minister's security forces in the RCMP to vet every single person who comes within proximity of a high-profile foreign war leader who is involved in a very difficult conflict right now. It was the job of the Prime Minister to protect that foreign leader from this massive embarrassment.

If the Prime Minister failed to have vetting in place, then that in itself is a massive act of incompetence. Will he take responsibility and apologize for that?

[Karina Gould, Liberal, Leader of the Government in the House of Commons]

Mr. Speaker, again, I would ask the Leader of the Opposition to not politicize this issue.

He knows, just as well as everyone else in this chamber does, that the decision to invite this individual was yours, Mr. Speaker, and yours alone, and that you did not inform the government or the Ukrainian delegation that you were inviting him or that you would recognize him. You made that public yesterday. The Leader of the Opposition knows that, and I would ask that he stick to the facts.

[Pierre Poilievre, Conservative, Leader of the Opposition]

Mr. Speaker, if the Prime Minister were so proud of how he conducted himself, he would be on the floor in the House of the Commons today answering questions instead of hiding under a rock.

Canadians are sick and tired of a Prime Minister—

[The Speaker, Liberal, Anthony Rota]

I would remind hon. members that all MPs have duties in the chamber and outside. I just want to remind them that referring to their presence or absence is not allowed in the rules.

The hon. Leader of the Opposition.

[Pierre Poilievre, Conservative, Carleton, ON]

Mr. Speaker, Canadians are sick and tired of a Prime Minister who never takes responsibility for the things that happen under his watch. Whether it is the record-high inflation or interest rates, the doubling of housing costs, or the constant international embarrassments, he always finds someone else to throw under the bus. Are you that person?

[Karina Gould, Liberal, Leader of the Government in the House of Commons]

Mr. Speaker, I know the Leader of the Opposition does not want to rely on the facts, but the facts in this situation are that the government had no prior knowledge that this individual was being invited, nor that he would be recognized.

If members go back and recall what happened on Friday, they will see that it was indeed the Speaker of the House who recognized this individual. We were all caught off guard. It is deeply embarrassing to this Parliament and to Canada. I ask that we all deal with this responsibly.

[Alain Therrien, Bloc, La Prairie, QC]

Mr. Speaker, what happened in the House on Friday is having serious consequences. The media around the world are talking about it, and the Russian media are already using it as propaganda. In wartime, this type of propaganda could help recruit Russian soldiers to go fight Ukraine.

An incident like this one can also have a negative impact on our efforts to seek international support. It is tragic, because this is a time of war. The repercussions are real.

What does the government intend to do to fix the damage caused by what happened on Friday?

[Karina Gould, Liberal, Leader of the Government in the House of Commons]

Mr. Speaker, I would like to thank my colleague for his question.

As I mentioned, it was a very painful incident for everyone in the House and, of course, for all Canadians, especially those who have family members who were affected by the Holocaust, namely, the Jewish and Eastern European communities. This really hurts. Personally, I was disappointed by what happened.

I would like to ask everyone to deal with this responsibly.

[Alain Therrien, Bloc, La Prairie, QC]

Mr. Speaker, I am talking about the negative impact this incident will have on the Ukrainian war effort, but we must not forget our Jewish constituents.

I acknowledge the Leader of the Government in the House of Commons and all those who were the victims of Naziism during the Second World War. As long as any of the perpetrators are still alive, there are still victims, and our thoughts are with them. We need to show all those who have been affected in any way that this House and this government do not take lightly what happened on Friday.

What will the government do to correct this terrible mistake?

[Karina Gould, Liberal, Leader of the Government in the House of Commons]

Mr. Speaker, as I mentioned, everyone in the House is deeply hurt by what happened on Friday. We were all taken by surprise. This is something that is completely unacceptable. There are communities across Canada, including Jewish and Eastern European communities, for whom the Holocaust and the Second World War are particularly painful.

As a descendant of Jewish Holocaust survivors, I take this very seriously. I think this is an opportunity for us all to reflect—

[The Speaker, Liberal, Anthony Rota]

The hon. member for Vancouver East.

Housing

[Jenny Kwan, NDP, Vancouver East, BC]

Mr. Speaker, what happened last Friday never should have happened.

Turning now to another crisis, the last 30 years have demonstrated that successive Liberal and Conservative governments' market-driven approach to housing has failed Canadians. Housing serves as a social good. It should not just be treated as a commodity for greater profits. People need housing that they can afford, and waiving the GST for new rentals is not enough.

Will the Prime Minister commit to creating an acquisition fund for the non-profit sector to help stop the loss of low-cost rentals to profiteering landlords?