Debates of Sept. 28th, 2023

Natural Resources

[George Chahal, Liberal, Calgary Skyview, AB]

Mr. Speaker, in my riding and across this country, companies are in a race to deploy cutting-edge technologies that deliver the energy we need while driving down emissions and costs. This is a win-win-win, because Albertan workers are using their expertise to build projects that deploy green, affordable and reliable energy to households, and the Government of Canada is investing in them.

Can the Minister of Employment, Workforce Development and Official Languages please update this House on recent developments in the energy sector?

[Randy Boissonnault, Liberal, Minister of Employment]

Mr. Speaker, I want to thank the hon. member for Calgary Skyview for the incredible work he does every day for Albertans.

This summer alone, our government invested more than $300 million in over a dozen great projects, powering over 100,000 homes and giving thousands of good-paying jobs. Today we announced nearly $24 million for the Cypress 2 wind farm in Alberta. This project, with EDF Renewables and the Kainai First Nation, will reduce emissions equivalent to getting 20,000 cars off the road.

While the Conservatives want to chop, chop, chop and block projects, we are delivering for Albertans.

Finance

[Adam Chambers, Conservative, Simcoe North, ON]

Mr. Speaker, former Bank of Canada governor David Dodge said the burden of past debts is catching up with us, and governments cannot spend their way out of problems, except the issue for the current government is that for every problem it sees, the solution is to spend more money. Everybody now knows that when the government spends money, the Bank of Canada raises its interest rates. When the Bank of Canada raises its interest rates, Canadian mortgage holders pay more.

Will the government finally rein in its out-of-control deficits so Canadians can keep their homes?

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

Mr. Speaker, as my colleague from the finance committee well knows, all of the rating agencies have reconfirmed our AAA credit rating.

What I would like to address is the fact that the Conservative members are oddly silent when it comes to investments that our government has made in order to attract companies like Northvolt, which just announced today that it is coming to Canada. It could have gone to California; it could have gone to anywhere else around the world, but it has decided to partner with our federal government in order to install a brand new company right here in Canada. That will create thousands and thousands of jobs for Canadians who need them. That is us working for Canadians.

[Adam Chambers, Conservative, Simcoe North, ON]

Mr. Speaker, while households are struggling with higher mortgage and interest costs, the Canadian taxpayer is going to get side-swiped. That is because this year the government has to borrow over $420 billion just to satisfy its spending and deficits. It also expected to pay almost $44 billion in servicing the debt, except that assumed interest rates were going to come down by the end of this year and interest rates have gone up.

Will the Minister of Finance stand up and tell Canadians how much taxpayers are on the hook because interest rates have not come down?

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

Mr. Speaker, I spoke with a mother in my riding who is wondering how much a Conservative government would cost her. Our government has been supporting families through this difficult time—

[Some hon. members]

Oh, oh!

[The Deputy Speaker, Chris d'Entremont]

Order, please.

The hon. Parliamentary Secretary to the Minister of Finance can start again.

[Rachel Bendayan, Liberal, Outremont, QC]

Mr. Speaker, obviously I hit a nerve with the Conservatives, because when I spoke to a member of my constituency, when I spoke to this mother, she was concerned about how much the Conservatives' plan would cost her. She is relying on the Canada child benefit, which continues to go up because it is indexed to inflation. She is relying on the supports of our government. She is relying on the construction of new homes that our government is committed to building. The Conservative Party is nowhere to be found.

Housing

[Eric Melillo, Conservative, Kenora, ON]

Mr. Speaker, after eight years of the NDP-Liberal government, inflationary spending is driving up the cost of living and interest rates to the point where people are worried they might lose their home. The more the government spends, the more inflation grows and the higher interest rates get.

Now with mortgage interest costs up 31%, it is clear that the Prime Minister is not worth the cost. When will the Liberals finally control and put an end to their out-of-control spending so that Canadians can keep a roof over their heads?

[Sean Fraser, Liberal, Minister of Housing]

Mr. Speaker, if the hon. member is concerned about making sure Canadians have a roof over their heads, I find it curious that he seems to be supporting a plan that has been described as being so unaware of the scale or urgency of the housing crisis that it has come up with measures such as a snitch line to rat out neighbours.

He has put forward measures that are actually going to result in raising taxes on the people who build homes. That will not result in more homes. He is proposing a plan that is going to result in cuts to the funding that is supporting homebuilding.

We are going to change the financial equation for builders by putting incentives forward. We are going to change the way cities build homes, and we are going to continue to make investments so the most vulnerable people in our communities do have a roof over their heads. There is one party in this House that is committed to building homes for low-income families and for the middle class, and we are right here.

[Eric Melillo, Conservative, Kenora, ON]

Mr. Speaker, the minister talks about the urgency of addressing a crisis that he and his government have created. Unfortunately, it is not just homeowners who are struggling. After eight years, housing prices have doubled and young adults have given up completely on their dream of home ownership. In Toronto, students are paying $1,500 a month for one bedroom, not a one-bedroom apartment but one individual bedroom within a shared apartment.

This is just one example of the housing crisis the government has caused, so I ask this again: When is it finally going to stop its out-of-control spending so that Canadians can afford a home?

[Marc Serré, Liberal, Parliamentary Secretary to the Minister of Energy and Natural Resources and to the Minister of Official Languages]

Mr. Speaker, affordability is our top priority, and I will give another example to the member. My constituents Daniel and Hélène Gingras, from my riding of Nickel Belt in northern Ontario, took advantage of the greener homes program to help cover the cost of installation, and they are saving hundreds of dollars a month on their energy bills while at the same time reducing emissions.

Addressing affordability and fighting climate change go hand in hand. Canadians know that the Leader of the Opposition is just not worth the risk.

[Denis Trudel, Bloc, Longueuil—Saint-Hubert, QC]

Mr. Speaker, where is the $900 million that Quebec is supposed to receive for housing? There is not a Liberal blunder, not a single distraction, that is going to make us forget that.

I have travelled all around Quebec. This is not just an issue in Montreal. People in Sainte-Anne-des-Monts talked to me about homelessness; it is something they have never seen before. In Saint-Jérôme, there are 40 families living in their cars. There are families without a roof over their heads all over Quebec; meanwhile, the federal government is depriving Quebeckers of $900 million for housing.

When will the government hand the money over to Quebec without conditions?

[Sean Fraser, Liberal, Minister of Housing]

Mr. Speaker, as members well know, we are in discussions with Quebec to reach a new agreement, to support their efforts to build housing throughout the province.

My counterpart and I are having conversations to establish our shared priority. In fact, the member can rest assured that I am the minister who intends to reach an agreement between Canada and Quebec. It is good for Quebec and it is good for Canada.

[Denis Trudel, Bloc, Longueuil—Saint-Hubert, QC]

Mr. Speaker, if the Liberals' priority was to provide housing to our people back home, they would have given the housing funds to Quebec a long time ago. By holding on to that money, they are showing that their priority is not to build houses as quickly as possible, but to fight over flags with Quebec.

They should start by giving us the means to build apartment buildings. Not to worry, we will be happy to invite them for the photo op.

When will they give Quebec the $900 million for housing? We need that money now.

[Soraya Martinez Ferrada, Liberal, Minister of Tourism and Minister responsible for the Economic Development Agency of Canada for the Regions of Quebec]

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

As he knows, we work very well with Quebec. We have signed several agreements and made historic investments in housing in Quebec. We will be happy to make further announcements—very soon, I hope—because many projects are already under way and we look forward to making these announcements.

[Dominique Vien, Conservative, Bellechasse—Les Etchemins—Lévis, QC]

Mr. Speaker, a recent survey shows that one in two young people are living from paycheque to paycheque, and eight out of 10 young people say they are unable to buy a home. This is where eight years of a Liberal government have led us, and the Bloc is complicit with the Liberals, whose carbon tax increases are driving up the cost of everything we buy. Without a doubt, voting for the Bloc is far too expensive.

When will the Liberals stop their inflationary policy so that Canadians can keep a roof over their heads?

[Marie-Claude Bibeau, Liberal, Minister of National Revenue]

Mr. Speaker, we have had a national housing strategy for years and are investing billions of dollars in it. We are working with the Government of Quebec and we have different types of programs in all the categories, including affordable housing, the GST exemption on rental housing construction and the FHSA, which offers young people an opportunity to invest and save in a tax-free account for the eventual purchase of their first property.

Carbon Pricing

[Jacques Gourde, Conservative, Lévis—Lotbinière, QC]

Mr. Speaker, with the Bloc-Liberal coalition wanting to radically increase carbon taxes, voting for the Bloc Québécois is too costly, especially since the Bloc leader does not even know the annual gas consumption for a family of four in Quebec. The Bloc-Liberal coalition does not understand the struggles of Canadian families.

When will this government see sense and cancel the carbon tax?

[Marie-Claude Bibeau, Liberal, Minister of National Revenue]

Mr. Speaker, Quebec is not subject to the price on pollution for the simple reason that it has had its own carbon exchange for 10 years.

My colleague does not understand that climate change is having an impact on our businesses. If we abolished the price on pollution, as the Conservatives would like to do, that would put Quebec and British Columbia businesses at a disadvantage compared to the rest of the country.

[Jacques Gourde, Conservative, Lévis—Lotbinière, QC]

Mr. Speaker, the carbon taxes are increasing the cost of living for Canadians, including our farmers. As if eight years of Liberal incompetence were not costly enough, now the new Bloc-Liberal coalition is adding to the pile. It is scandalous. Voting for the Bloc Québécois is very costly. By radically increasing the carbon tax, the Bloc Québécois is trampling on and penalizing our Canadian farmers.

When will the Bloc-Liberal coalition choose common sense?

[Diane Lebouthillier, Liberal, Minister of Fisheries]

Mr. Speaker, Conservative common sense is like jam: the less there is, the more it is spread around. The Conservatives are proposing to cut services and support for families, set back women's rights and muzzle scientists. I could go on like that all afternoon. Chop, chop, chop, that is what common sense looks like to the Conservatives. We will pass.

Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship

[Anju Dhillon, Liberal, Dorval—Lachine—LaSalle, QC]

Mr. Speaker, many businesses in communities across Quebec and Canada and in my riding of Dorval—Lachine—LaSalle are having trouble finding the workers they need.

Can the Minister of Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship inform the House of our government's plan to bring in newcomers with high-demand skills in order to spur innovation and economic growth?

[Marc Miller, Liberal, Minister of Immigration]

Mr. Speaker, Canada remains a destination of choice for skilled newcomers, and immigration remains an essential tool in our plan to address the labour shortage. Thanks to programs like express entry for temporary foreign workers and international students, we are welcoming newcomers with high-demand skills to spur innovation and economic growth. We will continue to welcome immigrants to Canada and to use every tool at our disposal to address labour shortages because that is good for our economy and for Canada.