Debates of Jan. 30th, 2024

Grocery Industry

[Jagmeet Singh, NDP, Burnaby South, BC]

Mr. Speaker, the out-of-touch Liberals continue to let down Toronto.

Yesterday, the Minister of Industry made me laugh. He said he was disappointed in the big grocery stores. He asked people to read the flyers and failed to stabilize prices, and now he says that we need another investigation. We know what the problem is: People are getting taken for a ride as the CEOs fill their pockets.

When will the Liberals stop protecting the big grocers' profits?

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

Mr. Speaker, I thank my colleague for his important question. I think the price of groceries is an issue that affects all Canadians. That is why Canadians understand that the best way to stabilize prices in the medium and long term is to have more competition in this country. That is exactly why we amended the Competition Act in December to give the commissioner of competition more power. Yesterday, on behalf of all Canadians, I asked him to use these new powers to help stabilize prices in Canada. The leader of the NDP should be happy about that.

Carbon Pricing

[Melissa Lantsman, Conservative, Thornhill, ON]

Mr. Speaker, another year means another carbon tax increase on April 1. It was -50°C in some places in this country where Canadians cannot even afford to heat their homes.

Yesterday, the finance minister lectured Canadians on her out-of-touch version of events, and then we learned that the Liberals were going to change the name of the carbon tax. Taking money out of the pockets of Canadians rebranded is still taking money out of their pockets. So, instead of paying high-priced consultants to change the carbon tax name, they should take some free advice and cancel it April 1.

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

Mr. Speaker, let me tell members what is really out of touch. What is out of touch is for a Toronto MP, like the one sitting opposite, to be saying to the people of Ontario, to the hard-working families of Ontario, “We are going to take away the $974 you are getting back thanks to the price on pollution. We are going to cut that money that goes directly to your family budget. Oh, and by the way, we are going to cut day care and dental care along the way too.”

That is not going to help anyone is Canada.

[Melissa Lantsman, Conservative, Thornhill, ON]

Mr. Speaker, I do not remember a government so indifferent to the plight of Canadians. The minister's advice of cutting Disney+ is cold comfort to the woman who is putting water in her children's milk. The cost of some produce is up 94% since she got here. The Liberals can lower the cost of food, gas and home heating by cancelling the increase instead of quadrupling the tax. They paused it for one region where their MPs revolted. Where are the rest of their silent MPs who should be speaking up for their neighbours who are asking to cancel the increase?

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

Mr. Speaker, when it comes to being out of touch with regular Canadians, I will tell members what was out of touch. It was having a temporary leader who charged $20,000 to move into her temporary house and then charged Canadian taxpayers more than $5,000 for bed and bath linens, which is for towels and sheets.

What Canadians need to know is that these Conservatives would cut child care, dental care and the carbon rebate people are getting.

[Shannon Stubbs, Conservative, Lakeland, AB]

Mr. Speaker, that Deputy Prime Minister is so out of touch. This is the truth: After eight years, Canadians cannot afford to eat, heat or house themselves. Last year, two million Canadians needed help from food banks every month. That is a shocking 78% increase from just two years before, and food banks say that 2024 will be even worse.

The Conservative common-sense bill, Bill C-234, would take the tax off farmers to lower food prices right now, but the Liberals forced senators to gut it. Why will the Liberals not axe the tax on farmers to bring down food prices for Canadians?

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

Mr. Speaker, we will take no lessons from these austerity Conservatives when it comes to supporting the most vulnerable Canadians. Since we formed government, 2.3 million Canadians have been lifted out of poverty, and the poverty rate has fallen from 14.5% when they were in government to 7.4%.

The Conservatives want to cut child care and dental care. That MP from Alberta wants to cut the $1,500 Alberta families are getting from the price on pollution.

[Shannon Stubbs, Conservative, Lakeland, AB]

Mr. Speaker, the Liberals' schemes, scams and spin jobs do not help the millions of desperate hungry Canadians struggling just to get by every single month.

This is the fact: when one taxes the farmer who produces the food, the trucker who ships the food and the cost of heating and cooling and storing the food, Canadians cannot afford the food.

These out-of-touch carbon tax crusaders do not care. They are going to quadruple it on April 1. Conservatives would axe the tax for all for good.

Why will these Liberals not just pass Bill C-234, reject the Senate amendments, axe the tax on farmers and bring down food prices today?

[Randy Boissonnault, Liberal, Minister of Employment]

Mr. Speaker, I will tell us where Conservatives were focused just over a week ago. A who's who collection of Conservatives gathered for a pep talk from far-right U.S. commentator Tucker Carlson—

[Some hon. members]

Oh, oh!

[The Speaker, Liberal, Greg Fergus]

Order.

It is important, once again, for us to be able to hear the questions and the answers. I know that, yesterday, if we will recall, there was a member who had complained about the noise level, which made it difficult to hear, especially for people who need to listen to the translation.

The hon. minister, from the top, please.

[Randy Boissonnault, Liberal, Edmonton Centre, AB]

Mr. Speaker, last week, a who's who of Conservatives gathered in Alberta for a lecture in a series with far-right commentator Tucker Carlson. In that speech, one of them, which had the premier, Danielle Smith, attend, we heard attacks on francophones, homophobic jokes and the traditional best hits of MAGA politicians.

A Conservative nomination candidate in my riding went on Twitter and had lots of fun on it.

Will his leader stand with the candidate or call him out or is he standing with Tucker Carlson?

[Lianne Rood, Conservative, Lambton—Kent—Middlesex, ON]

Mr. Speaker, after eight years of this NDP-Liberal government, Canadians who used to belong to the middle class are going hungry. The Prime Minister and his radical environment minister know that if it costs the farmer more to grow food, it is going to cost Canadians more to buy food. This Prime Minister is not worth the cost.

Farmers, ranchers and producers are asking for Bill C-234 to lower their costs. Will the Liberals finally reject the amendments to Bill C-234 from the Senate, remove the carbon tax completely and lower the price of food for all Canadians?

[Lawrence MacAulay, Liberal, Minister of Agriculture and Agri-Food]

Mr. Speaker, I fully understand the importance of looking after the land. Being a farmer, I fully understand taking steps to prepare the industry for the future.

That is why we invested, as a government, $1.5 billion to make sure our farmers, ranchers and processors are ready for the future. We are going to continue to make sure our farmers and ranchers remain on the cutting edge.

[Lianne Rood, Conservative, Lambton—Kent—Middlesex, ON]

Mr. Speaker, the two million Canadians who rely on food banks deserve better than that cheap deflection. One in five Ontario households who struggle to put food on their tables deserve better. They need this government to stop inflating food prices. They need the Prime Minister to stand up to his radical environment minister and carve out the inflationary carbon tax for our farmers, producers and ranchers.

Would the Liberals finally do the right thing, reject the Senate amendments to Bill C-234, remove the carbon tax for farmers and lower the price of food for Canadians?

[Lawrence MacAulay, Liberal, Minister of Agriculture and Agri-Food]

Mr. Speaker, being a farmer, the member must fully understand that it is so important that we invest in what farmers do. When one sees what takes place across the country, with the devastating fires and floods, it is so important that we take care of the environment.

Farmers fully understand that one has to take care of the land and the environment, and if not, one's food price will increase dramatically. We will continue to make sure we support our farmers and ranchers right across this country.

Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship

[Alexis Brunelle-Duceppe, Bloc, Lac-Saint-Jean, QC]

Mr. Speaker, since 2021, the federal government has been withholding the money it owes Quebec for taking in asylum seekers. It has been so long that the bill has reached $470 million.

Yesterday, at last, the government announced in the newspapers that there would be some good news today. It is 2:40 p.m., and there is still nothing. Yesterday, in his first question of 2024, the minister talked about playing politics at the expense of immigrants. Do they know what it means to play politics at the expense of immigrants? It means withholding for years the money needed to provide them with services.

Where is the money?

[Marc Miller, Liberal, Minister of Immigration]

Mr. Speaker, the member was here in the House. He did not learn about it in the papers, unless he did not listen.

I was the one who announced that there would be good news this week. It will deal with matters under my authority, and naturally, Quebec will not be getting all that it asked for. That is very clear, but it will deal with matters under my authority.

It is our responsibility to support asylum seekers and to support Quebec in its efforts to ensure that these people are well supported. It is a dual responsibility. We will continue our good work together.

[Alexis Brunelle-Duceppe, Bloc, Lac-Saint-Jean, QC]

Mr. Speaker, Quebec does not play politics on the backs of immigrants. These people need services, and Quebec is scrambling to provide them at Quebeckers' expense. People come first and money matters come later.

It is only here, in Ottawa, where the policies are not up to snuff. It is only here that the government has been trying for years to save money at the expense of asylum seekers and Quebec. Today, I would invite the federal government to take the high road and face up to its responsibilities.

Where is the $470 million?

[Marc Miller, Liberal, Minister of Immigration]

Mr. Speaker, the government is not saving money by giving Quebec $700 million a year under the Canada-Quebec accord, in addition to a surplus of over $700 million that we have never asked Quebec about. We never asked for an accounting, but obviously there will have to be a conversation about that with Quebec. We are ready to have that conversation. We are already having some good discussions.

As I said, there will be good news later this week.

[Alexis Brunelle-Duceppe, Bloc, Lac-Saint-Jean, QC]

Mr. Speaker, obviously, the heart of the matter is the quality of services offered to asylum seekers. Money is essential, but there is much more to it than that.

Last year alone, Quebeckers welcomed more than 65,000 asylum seekers. That is almost half the total for all of Canada. Our public services and community organizations are overwhelmed. We lack resources. Quebec has exceeded its integration capacity.

In the interest of fairness—but, more importantly, to guarantee adequate services for asylum seekers—will the minister finally organize how integration is shared among the provinces?

[Marc Miller, Liberal, Minister of Immigration]

Mr. Speaker, it is nice to hear the member opposite admit that this responsibility falls to both levels of government. Last year, he was claiming that it was solely Canada's responsibility, and that all the provinces needed was money.

We are clearly going to work together. We clearly need to make more effort. There are two provinces that are overburdened, Ontario and Quebec. This is something we can do as a team. We are a federation, and a beautiful one at that.

Housing

[Shelby Kramp-Neuman, Conservative, Hastings—Lennox and Addington, ON]

Mr. Speaker, for far too many Canadians, the dream of home ownership is dead, and it lays squarely on the Liberal-NDP government. After eight years, mortgages have doubled and a staggering three out of four families cannot afford a home.

Canadians know that the Prime Minister is not worth the cost, a cost brought about by a truly impressive mix of arrogance and indifference to the suffering of many Canadians.

When will the government take a break from its Jamaican junkets and actually address the housing hell in Canada?

[Sean Fraser, Liberal, Minister of Housing]

Mr. Speaker, with respect, my hon. colleague is simply trying to prey on the very real anxiety that families are feeling across this country. At the same time, she advances a plan that will build fewer homes than we are already on track to build.

We have removed the GST from homebuilding in this country. The Conservatives want to put it back on. We are investing directly in affordable housing. The Conservatives want to cut it. We have put a $4 billion fund on the table to reduce red tape with cities, and they have committed to doing away with that too.

We will get the homes built. They only stand in the way.