Debates of Sept. 26th, 2023

Guests in the House of Commons

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

Mr. Speaker, as I said yesterday, as a Canadian of Jewish origin and a descendant of a Holocaust survivor, I feel personally hurt by this incident. It has hurt all members of the House, all Canadians and President Zelenskyy.

The Speaker made his apology and took responsibility for a shameful decision that has hurt all of us. He did the responsible thing by resigning.

Grocery Industry

[Jagmeet Singh, NDP, Burnaby South, BC]

Mr. Speaker, yesterday it was the producers' turn to be summoned by the Minister of Innovation. The minister knows full well that they have inflated prices because he is simply asking them to stabilize them. After the meeting, the minister said inaction is not an option, except that is exactly what he has been doing for the past two years.

Will the Prime Minister promise Canadian families that their Thanksgiving dinner will cost less than it did last year?

[François-Philippe Champagne, Liberal, Minister of Innovation]

Mr. Speaker, I thank my colleague for his question.

I am glad to see that he knows that inaction is not an option. That is exactly why we convened the country's food executives with a very clear objective: to stabilize prices in Canada. I expressed the frustration of 40 million Canadians, saying that the number one issue for Canadians is affordability and the price of groceries.

We have introduced Bill C-56 which, for one, will tackle competition, because we want more of it in this country. I expect my colleague to support this bill so that we can move forward for the—

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

The hon. member for Burnaby South.

Housing

[Jagmeet Singh, NDP, Burnaby South, BC]

Mr. Speaker, Liberal inaction is much too costly.

On top of that inaction, we have a very serious situation in Halifax. People currently living in a campground fear they will be homeless when it closes for the season, because there is simply nowhere else for them to go. These people have worked hard. They have jobs. Some live at the campground, and some work there. There is simply no other housing for them to rent in the surrounding area.

They do not have months to wait for the government to approve new housing. They will be homeless in weeks. This is the result of a Prime Minister who could have and should have built more affordable housing, but did not.

What will the Prime Minister tell them when they are homeless in a few weeks?

[Sean Fraser, Liberal, Minister of Housing]

Mr. Speaker, I agree with my hon. colleague on the need to continue to invest in affordable housing, including in the city of Halifax, including in my home province of Nova Scotia.

I would point out to the hon. member that right now, as we speak, the city council in Halifax is actually debating a motion to change the way that they permit homes to be built. As a result of the housing accelerator fund, it is going to yield more homes for people who live in Halifax.

In addition to changing the way cities build homes, we are putting incentives on the table to get more homes built, and we are going to work with jurisdictions that have local authority to figure out how we can continue to increase the affordable housing stock, as we have been doing for the last number of years.

I would be pleased to work with my hon. colleague to advance solutions for some of the most vulnerable people in Canada.

Guests in the House of Commons

[Melissa Lantsman, Conservative, Thornhill, ON]

Mr. Speaker, the Speaker of the House of Commons took the fall, and the Prime Minister continues to blame everyone else. It a full-blown international embarrassment for our country, for our allies and for everything this nation did to defeat the Nazis.

An actual Nazi was invited to the House of Commons, welcomed and celebrated as a hero. The government vetted everyone here.

The Prime Minister has called Canadian citizens Nazis. Will he muster the courage to stand up on his feet today and take responsibility?

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

Mr. Speaker, we all feel the deep embarrassment and shame of what happened on Friday.

Had anyone in this House known what the Speaker was going to do ahead of time and who this person was, I am certain that not a single person would have stood in this House of Commons.

However, the fact of the matter is, and my Conservatives colleagues know this, neither the Prime Minister nor the government nor the Ukrainian delegation nor any parliamentarian in this place knew ahead of time. It was the Speaker's decision. He has taken responsibility and he has resigned.

[Melissa Lantsman, Conservative, Thornhill, ON]

Mr. Speaker, the minister who is now whispering was louder when she also painted Canadians as Nazis, and she cannot bring herself to apologize for an actual Nazi the government vetted.

Worse even, she tried to strike it from the historical record of this House as if it never happened. A descendant of Holocaust survivors distorting the Holocaust. You should be ashamed of yourself.

I do not know how—

[Some hon. members]

Oh, oh!

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

This is just a reminder that all questions and comments are to be through the Chair.

The hon. member for Thornhill.

[Melissa Lantsman, Conservative, Thornhill, ON]

Mr. Speaker, I do not know how many times I am going to have to ask this Prime Minister for an apology in that he has slandered, dishonoured and embarrassed Holocaust survivors, but I think two times is two too many.

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

Mr. Speaker, while the member opposite tries to personally attack me, I will actually stay focused on the facts.

The fact of the matter, and she knows this as well as every other member in this House, is that it was the Speaker who decided to invite this individual. It was the Speaker who acknowledged that he was going to acknowledge him in the chamber. No one in this chamber knew ahead of time who he was.

The Speaker has taken full responsibility for this. He has resigned. It was the right thing to do, it was the honourable thing to do and it had to be done.

[Some hon. members]

Oh, oh!

[Marty Morantz, Conservative, Charleswood—St. James—Assiniboia—Headingley, MB]

Mr. Speaker, Global Affairs, the Privy Council, the Diplomatic Protocol Office, the Parliamentary Protective Service and the RCMP, what do they all have in common? They all have massive resources for vetting visitors to this place.

The Prime Minister just threw the Speaker under the bus, but the truth is, the buck stops with him. Allowing a Nazi to be honoured in this chamber has embarrassed Canada on the international stage. Shame on him for bringing shame on this chamber. Will the Prime Minister finally take responsibility, do the right thing and apologize?

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

Mr. Speaker, I will remind my Conservative colleagues, because they seem to have forgotten, that they also called for the Speaker's resignation this morning. They recognized that it was actually the Speaker who did this on his own. Instead of trying to cast blame where no blame should be cast, the Speaker has taken responsibility for his actions and has resigned. It was the honourable thing to do, it was the right thing to do, after a moment in our history on Friday that was deeply embarrassing, deeply shameful for Canadians, that has hurt all of us as parliamentarians and Canadians.

[Marty Morantz, Conservative, Charleswood—St. James—Assiniboia—Headingley, MB]

Mr. Speaker, yesterday the Prime Minister and that member tried to bury this sordid affair with a motion to strike history from the record. For the sake of the six million Jews who perished at the hands of the Nazis, Conservatives said “no”.

This affair has resulted in a diplomatic disaster for Canada and gives the Russian government and its illegal invasion a propaganda win. When will the PM stop trying to erase history, take responsibility for once and apologize?

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

Mr. Speaker, the Speaker took responsibility for his actions and he apologized.

[Pierre Paul-Hus, Conservative, Charlesbourg—Haute-Saint-Charles, QC]

Mr. Speaker, here are a few of the international headlines that are making the rounds following Friday's incident: “‘Deeply hurtful’: Polish ambassador condemns Nazi veteran's invitation to Canada's Parliament”, “Unacceptable: Controversy in Canada after tribute paid to former Nazi soldier in Parliament” and “Nazi-linked veteran received ovation during Zelenskyy's Canada visit”.

Canada is the laughingstock of the entire world.

Will the Prime Minister show some backbone and stand up and apologize, or will he continue to hide?

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

Mr. Speaker, every member of the House thinks that the actions of the Speaker of the House of Commons were unacceptable, inexcusable and completely shameful for Canadians.

That is why the Speaker of the House of Commons apologized, took responsibility and resigned.

[Pierre Paul-Hus, Conservative, Charlesbourg—Haute-Saint-Charles, QC]

Mr. Speaker, what the government does not seem to understand is that it had a responsibility.

Let us remember that, in 2015, legislative amendments were made to make the Parliamentary Protective Service responsible for doing checks on individuals to ensure that there are no safety threats or other concerns in situations such as visits from foreign heads of state.

The Prime Minister failed miserably in maintaining Canada's diplomatic integrity. Can he show some courage and rise in the House today to apologize?

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

Mr. Speaker, as I mentioned several times yesterday, the Parliamentary Protective Service followed all the security protocols. The Speaker of the House was the individual responsible for the invitation and the recognition. He has apologized and taken responsibility. He resigned a few minutes ago.

Small Business

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

Mr. Speaker, a wave of bankruptcies is coming for our small and medium-sized businesses if the federal government does not wake up. The Canadian Federation of Independent Business sounded that alarm today on the Hill. The government is giving SMEs an extra 18 days to get bank loans, but that is not going to help the SMEs that are in debt up to their eyeballs and have been struggling for three years to pay back their emergency loan. Unfortunately, bankruptcy is not far off.

When will the government finally open a direct line of communication with our struggling businesses to offer them payment deferrals that are adequate?

[Randy Boissonnault, Liberal, Minister of Employment]

Mr. Speaker, nearly one million businesses were able to stay open thanks to the actions of this government. We know that global inflation, the rising cost of supplies and everything that is happening in Ukraine are among the factors destabilizing businesses here in Canada. We are ensuring that they will have a way to continue operating.

We are also supporting people with the Canada child benefit and loans for workers. We are here for the businesses in Quebec and we will continue to be.

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

Mr. Speaker, our small businesses are not asking for charity. They simply want to avoid bankruptcy while paying their fair share. The government could enter into payment agreements with businesses that are struggling without losing any subsidies. The government could then prevent closures and job losses and recover what it is owed, instead of losing it in a massive wave of bankruptcies.

When will the government finally realize that being flexible with SMEs is the only fair and responsible way out of this crisis?