Debates of Sept. 28th, 2023

Carbon Pricing

[Pierre Poilievre, Conservative, Leader of the Opposition]

Mr. Speaker, we have made our choice. We will axe the tax to bring home affordability.

Interestingly, the Liberal members of Parliament from Atlantic Canada tell their constituents that they agree with me and not with the Prime Minister. When they are on the home front, they tell their constituents that they are on the Conservative team to axe the carbon tax, but when they come here, they seem to forget their spinal cords at home and vote with the Prime Minister to quadruple the carbon tax to 61¢ a litre, which also applies to home heating.

Will those Atlantic MPs find a spine, vote with us and axe the tax to bring home lower prices?

[Randy Boissonnault, Liberal, Minister of Employment]

Mr. Speaker, residents of Edmonton Centre, indeed Albertans across the province, wrote to me about the fact that this summer, like so many summers before, they could not breathe the air because of forest fires.

What do the Conservatives want to do? They want to cancel the child care benefit; they want to pull the CCB. They want to chop, chop, chop. That is the party of slash and burn. The Conservatives are going to slash programs and let the planet burn. Shame on them.

[Pierre Poilievre, Conservative, Leader of the Opposition]

Mr. Speaker, we are going to chop the carbon tax.

That Liberal member, just like his NDP coalition partners, has betrayed Albertans, who are ripped off by the carbon tax, just like people right across the country. That member, just like the NDP, decided to betray his constituents and vote for the Prime Minister's plan to dig deeper into the pockets of hard-working people.

Will the government abandon its reckless plan to quadruple the tax to 61¢ a litre and vote for our motion to do it next week?

[Randy Boissonnault, Liberal, Minister of Employment]

Mr. Speaker, what is reckless is the Conservative ideology that somehow pausing renewable projects is a good strategy.

People in my riding and in our province want us to lean in. They want clean electricity. They want reasonable electricity. They want hydrogen plants. They want to be part of the economy of the future.

The Conservatives want to slash and burn. Shame on them. We are here to deliver for Albertans and for Canadians.

[Pierre Poilievre, Conservative, Leader of the Opposition]

Mr. Speaker, today, the leader of the Bloc Québécois lost it. He lost it because we pointed out that, on June 5, he voted to maintain the second carbon tax, which applies to Quebec. He lost it because we pointed out that one of his MPs wants to drastically increase the carbon tax on the backs of Quebeckers. He is going to lose it again in a few moments, I have no doubt.

Is the Prime Minister going to keep working with the leader of the Bloc to increase taxes on the backs of Quebeckers?

[Pascale St-Onge, Liberal, Minister of Canadian Heritage]

Mr. Speaker, what Quebeckers know is that, in 2023, it makes no sense for a party that hopes to govern this country to have absolutely no plan for combatting climate change.

The only solution the Conservatives have to offer, day in and day out, is to cut programs that help families make ends meet and to make polluting free, when we have just had the worst forest fire season ever.

It is irresponsible and it is a choice we would never make. It is risky to put the future of the country in the Conservatives' hands.

Foreign Affairs

[Yves-François Blanchet, Bloc, Beloeil—Chambly, QC]

Mr. Speaker, the leader of the official opposition used the word “clown” a few minutes ago. That is interesting. Why would he not eliminate oil profits and subsidies? That is a matter for another time. We still have at least a year.

In the meantime, we have to get back to what happened last Friday. There was no call to Mr. Zelenskyy, to the Jewish community or to the veterans of Quebec and Canada who fought against the Nazis.

Is the government aware of the terrible consequences of the Prime Minister's negligence, and what does it intend to do to address them?

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

Mr. Speaker, obviously, calls have been made. Everyone in the House and across Canada has clearly been hurt by what happened last Friday.

The Prime Minister apologized to Canadians and to every community that was hurt by last Friday's events. We will keep doing that, because it is truly regrettable for all of us in the House and for Canada.

[Yves-François Blanchet, Bloc, Beloeil—Chambly, QC]

Mr. Speaker, the government is going to move forward without taking the necessary action. Meanwhile, because it took five days before the government even thought about doing something, Russia, India and China, none of which are friends to the government or to Canada in general, began spreading propaganda and wreaking havoc on the interests and global perceptions of Canada and, unfortunately, Quebec.

It would have been better if, as head of the government, the Prime Minister had said right away, “I get it. Here is how it happened. We are sorry.” That would have appeared in the same news articles.

What does the government intend to do to save its allies from this embarrassing situation so that we can finally move on to something else?

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

Mr. Speaker, I thank my hon. colleague for that question.

The same day we learned about this horrendous incident that occurred in the House last Friday, the Prime Minister recognized that this was painful for Canadians and communities who were affected by the Holocaust. Calls and apologies were made through diplomatic channels right from the start.

Canada will continue to work with its allies to defend Ukraine and to work toward achieving peace, justice and sovereignty for that country.

Natural Resources

[Alexandre Boulerice, NDP, Rosemont—La Petite-Patrie, QC]

Mr. Speaker, this summer, forest fires laid waste to parts of the country. We are experiencing the climate crisis first-hand. The environment minister's inaction is getting embarrassing.

The International Energy Agency's recent report says that Canada must stop approving new fossil fuel projects and move its net-zero emissions target up to 2045. The Liberals have been doing the opposite, though. They bought a pipeline, and the environment minister is saying yes to Bay du Nord.

Will the minister finally wake up and listen to the International Energy Agency's recommendations?

[Pascale St-Onge, Liberal, Minister of Canadian Heritage]

Mr. Speaker, like our colleague, our government is obviously concerned about the future of the planet. That is why we have reduced our greenhouse gas emissions by more than 62 megatonnes since 2019. That is like taking 11 million cars off the road.

Obviously, we know we need to keep doing more to fight climate change. That is what we are going to do.

Public Services and Procurement

[Alexandre Boulerice, NDP, Rosemont—La Petite-Patrie, QC]

Mr. Speaker, when it comes to climate, the Liberals are asleep at the switch.

The move to a new insurance company for the public service is causing a lot of headaches for employees who are already struggling with the cost of living.

There are never-ending delays for drug and treatment claims. Some claims are being denied, even for sick children. It is almost impossible for people to get an explanation because no one answers the phone.

Workers deserve better, but the Liberals are leaving them to fend for themselves. What is the Liberals' plan for fixing the mess that they created and helping struggling families?

[Anita Anand, Liberal, President of the Treasury Board]

Mr. Speaker, I thank my colleague for the question. Of course, public servants, retirees and their dependants deserve adequate support to access their benefits. Wait times at the Canada Life call centre are unacceptable.

I have had discussions with Canada Life executives and told them the same thing.

I will work very hard to make sure that public servants can access their benefits.

Foreign Affairs

[Michael Chong, Conservative, Wellington—Halton Hills, ON]

Mr. Speaker, I listened carefully yesterday to the Prime Minister's apology in the House. He did not apologize on behalf of the government or on behalf of Canada. He apologized on behalf of the House.

However, a prime minister does not speak for the House; a prime minister speaks for the government or for Canada. Yesterday in the House, he did not apologize on behalf of either for the embarrassment and shame of the government's mismanagement of an official state visit. Why?

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

Mr. Speaker, my colleague knows perfectly well that the Prime Minister issued an apology on behalf of all of us because those of us who were present here in this chamber on Friday all stood. It was unbeknownst to any of us that this individual was to be here or that he would be recognized by the former Speaker. I think all of us feel a deep shame about this, and had we known otherwise, not a single one of us would have stood and applauded that individual.

[Michael Chong, Conservative, Wellington—Halton Hills, ON]

Mr. Speaker, for five days, the Prime Minister let Canada's reputation whither. For five days, the Prime Minister did not apologize, and when he did, it was not on behalf of the government or on behalf of Canada. It was on behalf of Parliament, for whom he does not speak. Why did he avoid speaking on behalf of himself, the government or Canada?

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

Mr. Speaker, as the member opposite knows perfectly well, as soon as this was discovered, the Prime Minister spoke about how deeply hurtful this was to all parliamentarians and indeed to all Canadians, particularly all communities who were impacted by the Holocaust. Conversations were had and apologies were made through diplomatic channels immediately upon knowing about this. As soon as the former Speaker admitted his responsibility, the Prime Minister took responsibility and issued his apology.

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

Mr. Speaker, while Canada was experiencing the worst diplomatic crisis in its history, what did the Liberal Prime Minister have to offer? Five days of silence, five days in hiding, five days in which he did not even pick up the phone to call President Zelenskyy or the outraged communities, five days in which the world's anger at the inexcusable act that occurred here grew to the point where Canada lost all credibility.

Why did it take the member for Papineau five days to act like a prime minister, to defend our reputation, our communities and our country?

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

Mr. Speaker, as the members opposite know very well, as soon as the Prime Minister realized what had happened, he said it was both painful and shameful for Canadians. Everyone in the House knows very well that it was the Speaker of the House who decided to invite this individual, without warning any members, the government or the Ukrainian delegation that he was going to acknowledge this individual's presence.

He took responsibility for it. He apologized and resigned.

Carbon Tax

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

Mr. Speaker, the line at one of the food banks in Quebec City this morning was longer than we have ever seen. These are people who, after eight years under this Liberal government, can no longer afford to buy food. The carbon tax, which applies to the production and transportation of the items we buy at the grocery store, is a major contributing factor.

The “Liberal Bloc” supports this tax, which is sending people directly to food banks. What is worse, the Bloc Québécois wants to drastically increase the carbon tax at the expense of Quebeckers who are struggling to make ends meet. People are finally realizing that voting Bloc is costly.

Rather than dodging the issue and shouting in the House, will the Bloc Québécois finally show some compassion and vote in favour of our motion to cancel the carbon taxes?

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

Questions are usually addressed to the government.

The hon. parliamentary secretary.

[Rachel Bendayan, Liberal, Parliamentary Secretary to the Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Finance]

Mr. Speaker, I would be happy to let the Bloc Québécois respond.

I want to say that 35 Liberal MPs are from Quebec, and we fought, with our minister from Shawinigan and our Prime Minister, to ensure that foreign investments come to Canada. We announced today that a new company, Northvolt, is going to set up shop in Saint‑Boniface, Quebec. That means thousands of jobs are being created in Quebec thanks to the work of our government.

That is the future and that is what working for Quebec looks like.

Housing

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

Mr. Speaker, anyone who took out a five-year, $500,000 variable rate mortgage in 2021 is now paying up to $24,000 more in interest a year. This is around the time the finance minister was telling everyone to borrow as much as they wanted because interest rates would be low for a very long time. What borrowers did not expect was for her to pour hundreds of billions of dollars of fuel on the inflationary fire, giving them the most rapid interest rate hikes seen in the last three decades. After eight years of the Liberals' incompetency, they are just not worth the cost anymore.

When will the Prime Minister finally balance the budget so interest rates can come down and Canadians can keep a roof over their heads?

[Sean Fraser, Liberal, Minister of Housing]

Mr. Speaker, I find the hon. member's newfound interest in building more homes for Canadians fascinating when he has a history of voting against measures that would build more homes for Canadians.

I would point out to the hon. member that officials at the finance committee yesterday confirmed the Conservative proposal would build fewer homes than the measures we have introduced already. Why is his plan to cut funding for home building and raise taxes for home builders? It is not going to work.

There are members who will work to build homes for Canadians, and they sit on the government side of the House.